LoRG 4

The Head Drill Sergeant looked exactly the same Except for his left arm which now seemed to be made of a metal with pulsing golden veins Yet in addition to his familiar form the man now seemed to sear CharlotteÆs senses His presence was so palpable that looking at him for too long might leave her blind to lesser individuals It was a phenomenon that she had never encountered before even from Commandant Wick

Power did not cause this Something more intimate and mysterious was at work here

The GhosthoundÆs emerald eyes were deep and bright as he swept the recruits with his gaze The longer he stood there the more there seemed to be phantoms dancing underneath his skin and in his shadows Small movements became vivid manifestations of fantastic energies Echoes of his images remained in the air as he breathed Charlotte couldnÆt tear her eyes away because she slowly saw the Ghosthound in front of her transforming into a tree

Somehow she sensed that everyone witnessed something different as they looked toward the Ghosthound He reflected back at them the images they needed to improve

IÆll keep this short The GhosthoundÆs voice was resonant Charlotte could feel every syllable dancing across her ribs His expression was determined with his lips pressed into a thin line Yet this Head Drill Sergeant was different from the one she remembered And then he solidified that impression by grinning

We are bound and shaped by our connections You the Overseers and myself we are now blood shaped and strengthened constantly by each other No matter your loyalties outside of this place do not forget this foundation From this everything is built

In CharlotteÆs warping vision his hair turned emerald his veins glowing golden to match his arm His skin darkened until it was a deep mahogany covered in deep gouges and pits Vitality pulsed within every word and movement The area around him was rich and filled with life Suddenly CharlotteÆs understanding of the Yggdrasil image grew increasingly deep It was like a room she had been exploring by touch was illuminated by candlelight and she could now witness its true majesty

If you need help ask If you receive a request from a companion lend aid The mouth of the Ghosthound stretched wider and wider His was a mouth with an appetite to swallow the sky No matter what enemy you face woe to those who take us lightly

Chapter 1594

Randidly looked at bemusement at the notifications as the group walked toward the chosen space Looks like getting enough PP for the Tithe wasnÆt a big deal after all

Congratulations Your Skill Torch of Fast and Slow Silences has grown to Level 233

Congratulations Your Skill Torch of Fast and Slow Silences has grown to Level 234

Congratulations Your Skill Torch of Fast and Slow Silences has grown to Level 261

Apparently his short speech was enough to reach the hearts of his recruits Because not only did he have a surge of Influence but he also gained another sizable chunk of PP from the Torch of Fast and Slow Silences The time filled with hardship while Randidly was stuck inside the shaft was also a chance for them to accumulate their understanding

The first step was Randidly assisting now with their growth and the second would come when they put those lessons into action during the challenge

The group proceeded forward walking forward without any sense of urgency But RandidlyÆs sharp senses didnÆt miss the way that some thin flows of significance were gathering in the sky over the Fifth Cohort Rally Station Thick braids wove themselves into a chaotic knot indicating the plans of many significant individuals that were running through this juncture Randidly barred his teeth to the dusty sky but didnÆt alter his pace He wasnÆt afraid of this Challenge win or lose He was afraid of what came next

This part was just play acting

The location that the Superintendent had selected for the Challenge was just a large canyon The air like basically everything else in the areas that hadnÆt been terraformed by Randidly was filled with red dust There were some large rocks and gorges in the surrounding area that would create some interesting terrain but Randidly doubted it would matter at all

The elite squad moved forward past groups of other recruits making their own preparations as they approached Those others looked at the elite squad with obvious antagonism in their eyes The elite squad to RandidlyÆs joy didnÆt miss a single marching step as they drew more and more ire from the surroundings Yet the connections that had begun forming after his speech steadily strengthened

This is basically all I can do for you Randidly thought sadly as he looked around at the recruits IÆve trained you IÆve told you to have each otherÆs back As long as you donÆt fragment after this fight against Nether well thatÆs the problem isnÆt it Without external threats organizations break into pieces

Very shortly Heiffal led the recruits away as Randidly climbed a low slope that would lead to the viewing area All the other Drill Sergeants were waiting there along with the Superintendent Most of their gazes toward Randidly werenÆt hostile just pitying RandidlyÆs face twitched as he had to suppress the urge to bare his teeth once more Truly they think that the outcome of this challenge is already determined Heheh seems like some bigwigs are truly moving behind the scenes

Welcome Head Drill Sergeant Ghosthound Superintendent Xeruth spoke first while Randidly scanned the surroundings We are prepared if you are Still are you sure you want the Challenge to be conducted in this manner If there is no tension to the final Challenge

Yes IÆm sure Randidly nodded There was no need to drag this out for longer than it needed to be He had made his preparations apparently the other factions had too Now all that remained was to see which one would end today disappointed

Still some part of him was able to more fully relax when Randidly scanned the surroundings and made sure that Velio Dunn wasnÆt present He even found the skulking form of LayÆmel Tuellethe but it seemed that crazy assassin wasnÆt allowed back into the Rally Station Truly this was just a performance So Randidly moved to stand next to Superintendent Xeruth at the edge of the canyon

Without much fanfare whatsoever the final Challenge began The rest of the Drill Sergeants crowded closer to the edge to get a better look at the action but they generally stayed away from where Randidly stood with his arms folded across his chest

Below RandidlyÆs elite squad gathered in the middle of the canyon near several large pillars of rock If this was a battle fought between normal human beings the terrain might actually play a significant role With a hemmed in passageway to meet them the smaller group would be able to steadily churn their way through the vastly superior numbers of the larger side As long as they behaved prudently the war would be a mostly internal one it was their own exhaustion that would be the deadliest foe

However this was the Nexus The first order of business for RandidlyÆs Squad was demolishing those stone pillars If they left them up their foes would just break them to pieces anyway But even if the terrain wasnÆt going to lend a helping hand to the elite squadron that didnÆt mean that they didnÆt have their own advantages

They had all trained together and were intimately familiar with each othersÆ images Although it was still difficult for multiple images to run wild in the same place theirs would find a more accepting home together than their foesÆ

Randidly rubbed his chin as the first of the other squads began to arrive I hope no one minds if I act as referee for this Challenge I can use my Skill to remove the wounded Otherwise I fear my group will need to stack up bodies for room

Most of the Drill Sergeants shifted uneasily at that suggestion but one stepped forward popping the invisible bubble of space that existed around Randidly It was someone he recognized too a dog of the NLC Banum Voloppesett

No problem Head Drill Sergeant Ghosthound Banum said with an affable smile We do not think you are such a petty man as to act with bias Besides I believe that the result will be suitably obvious to all who watch

Which is essentially boasting that you are going to crush me huh Randidly returned the affability with a mild smile while also feeding a thread of Mana into Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil Tiny microorganisms in the ground bulged and swelled His eyes narrowed as his senses spread through the area above the canyon

With a light touch he tasted the unfamiliar images of those gathering Heh well certainly itÆs not this motley crew thatÆs going to be the issue I suppose even those who plan on humiliating me want the elite squad who is related to so many influential figures in the Nexus to appear competent

About five thousand of the fellow recruits started swiftly marching forward wasting no time in approaching RandidlyÆs two hundred However the air above these recruits was filled with chaotic and conflicting images as each recruit desperately flared their image in an attempt to prove themselves Before the battle even started they weakened themselves in their jockeying Gradually the five thousand recruitsÆ speed increased to a jog and then a dead sprint The elite squad waited loosely organized in its groupings without even manifesting their images

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 391

Seeing the heavy and invisible mist of significance curling around the elite squad Randidly smirked

A particularly tall individual bearing a massive ax surged forward out of the aggressors He raised his weapon above his head while sprinting bellowing his fury to the orange sky Yet just after he had declared his intent to slaughter the elite squad to the world and lowered his gaze toward his foes it was too late for him

With their significant physical gifts one of the five person squads surged forward while the opposing recruit was distracted One recruit swept the giantÆs legs while another disdainfully smacked his throat with the flat of his blade

Lightning fast a root surge out of the ground wrapped around the giantÆs waist and then tossed him in a spinning arc in the air He landed with a crash well away from the action Randidly folded his arms as his elite recruits got to work

They rapidly split into their squads moving tightly as several independent units They didnÆt bother to stay clustered in the center but rather rapidly fanned out through the approaching hordes Even while several more thousand recruits streamed in and formed up their ranks the elite group wrecked the first assault formation The speed that they cut down their foes impressed even Randidly

To put it mildly they completely outclassed the average recruits Their physical abilities were all they needed to forcefully suppress the attackers Images were shattered and bones were broken by their brutal counter attack Bodies littered the ground only to be picked up and moved away by Randidly By the end of the clinic on incapacitation they were all slapping their foes on their necks and then tossing them bodily up into the air where RandidlyÆs roots would seize them and throw them to the side

Very soon all five thousand had been summarily defeated Without a single injury the elite group trotted back to the center of the field and waited for the next wave Next to Randidly Banum cleared his throat Heh YouÆve been on the frontlines have you not Head Drill Sergeant Ghosthound If only Nether Beasts could be so casually dealt with this war would be a much easier trial

Honestly Randidly was amused by the snide insult So much so that he couldnÆt help but reply with a similar jab Ah Are you the type to use a knife to strangle chickens

Yet Banum VoloppesettÆs expression remained gloating He shook his head in mock sorrow and acted as if he hadnÆt even heard Randidly Below them the fifteen thousand more troops charged forward to meet the elite group As expected your teaching methods are quite impressive But in the end I fear that they simply arenÆt experienced enough At this rate they will tire themselves out

Randidly didnÆt even bother to respond This second grouping clearly had some capable individuals commanding them behind the scenes because they separated off into larger groups to surround and crush the five person squads of the elite group Plus each of their five hundred person squads was centered around an individual with a powerful image

Even if they had the advantage in numbers these groups had to give each other some space If two unfamiliar images were used in close proximity one would inevitably push down the others

Formed up in their tight bunch the elite group just waited for the others to approach This time they made no move to have a pre emptive attack

The large groups charged forward clearly expecting a similar offensive strategy as they neared but soon only about fifty meters separated the sea of bodies from the placid two hundred At that distance the non elite groups began to stall out as the core images of each of the larger formations clashed with those nearby

Just as near as they were to the elite squad they were also very close to each other The dash forward fell down to a jog and then a walk And right as the groups began to communicate with each other to avoid interference an explosive image erupted from the elite group and claimed its dominance in the surrounding space The other images were forcefully pressed downward

Charlotte WickÆs Primal Force sent a rejuvenating force outward that faintly resembled the raw lifeforce of Yggdrasil In addition to restoring some of the elite squadÆs Stamina their movements now were so abrupt and brutal that Randidly could sense the shock quickly rising from the Drill Sergeants around him

Just like the first the second wave of troops was also slaughtered The more powerful images didnÆt matter The increased numbers only meant the exercise lasted a bit longer At the end of it watching CharlotteÆs image even Banum had a sour expression on his face I suppose itÆs about time the warm up finished

Randidly snorted I agree My forces down there are getting bored

Chapter 1595

Randidly rather casually removed some smoked sausages from his interspatial ring and began to snack as the next wave of foes came It might just be his imagination but he really hadnÆt felt full since returning from the shaft Some fundamental change had occurred in his body and respectable amounts of food no longer cut it

That didnÆt stop Randidly from trying however And the sausages were his own make and delicious

Below more and more recruits streamed into the canyon gathering up in bunches and throwing themselves forward at the elite group Learning from the prior losses each assault team was about two thousand individuals in size probably all taught by the same Drill Sergeant and possessed one or two individuals with powerful enough images they could rival RandidlyÆs elites

Still the Nexus was a place where quality mattered most of all Even in the face of these large groups RandidlyÆs recruits kept up their pace They lashed out disabling and wounding their enemies with each strike The Head Drill Sergeant manipulated Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil and cleared out the wounded individuals

Alas poor me Randidly thought while pushing the rest of a sausage into his mouth He noticed the struggle not to comment on Superintendent XeruthÆs face not to comment Randidly licked his fingers with relish Even though I am Head Drill Sergeant I am working so hard with this Challenge truly a martyr I am

And he didnÆt even get a break After one large mass of bodies was annihilated the next one rumbled forward Each seemed more powerful than the last and finally in the chaos of battle there was a casualty One of the elite groups was struck with a glancing blow in the side and stumbled With just that small mistake she was swarmed and smashed into the ground

Randidly pursed his lips He obviously hated to see his people wounded but knew it was inevitable He carefully marshaled his emotions It had to happen eventually The question is How will you deal with loss trainees

But his worries that this was the beginning of the end proved groundless There were no dangerous deviations in that SquadÆs formation after losing a member Helen had been adamant that they practice their teamwork with all numbers and member combinations for just this sort of scenario Gradually this most recent assault was defeated and smoothly another came forward In the next scrum two of the elites were defeated In the following one another individual fell

RandidlyÆs heart throbbed for each of his recruits that fell It never got any easier watching them being attacked

Yet as the elite group had defeated about half of their fellow recruits while only losing four individuals some of the other Drill Sergeants were looking at Randidly with a strangely heavy gaze He could feel hesitation seeping into the surrounding space it seemed they finally realized the price of forcing this issue against him

Influence +6

Through his connection with them Randidly could also feel the recruitsÆ understanding and respect for him shooting upward They had been forced into exhausted and hopeless situations constantly in his training At the time they had just assumed that their Head Drill Sergeant was a sadist But now he could feel them realizing the importance of the resolve they had gained by scraping their bodies dry again and again

For the next three waves of assault not a single recruit was wounded Their movements grew more efficient as they bashed and cut down their foes This crucible was strengthening them further

Yet RandidlyÆs expression shifted toward a grimace despite their improvements First his elites had needed to use their images more and more often to keep from being overwhelmed It was fine for now but outside of the small squads even his elites’ images werenÆt very compatible Soon they would be fighting each other for influence in the surrounding space

But more importantly within the most recent group was an individual who definitely did not belong within the recruits To RandidlyÆs sensitive emotional perception this man dragged around a heavy clump of bloodlust that set his skin tingling

RandidlyÆs gaze turned flinty So you truly mean to beat my recruits at any cost huh

Without revealing his capability the man suppressed his image and marched forward as a part of the new attack And although it made him extremely uncomfortable to do so Randidly did nothing but watch He couldnÆt protect his recruits from surprise threats like this It was a part of learning the art of war They would be weakened by his favor now down the line

That didnÆt make it any easier to handle his thrashing anxiety however

Of course when that bloodthirsty individual had the chance he erupted with a horrible fuschia jellyfish that struck back and forth with its long tentacles An entire squad of RandidlyÆs elites was wiped out like it was nothing Then the jellyfish ballooned in size rapidly swelling to fill the sky above the Challenge

All of you are nothing ulululululoo The fellow cackled strangely The fuschia jellyfish pulsed and undulated in an almost obscene way The battlefield around him partially stilled as RandidlyÆs recruits shifted their focus to this obvious threat The manÆs smile widened Cocky scum let me remind you of true power One Thousand Seizures

The jellyfish bulged as protuberances wormed their way out of its slimy body Then they accelerated outward striking at ally and foe alike The man continued to cackle as RandidlyÆs recruits retreated before the onslaught His eyes glowed bright fuschia

Randidly gritted his teeth forced to watch the indiscriminate slaughter Although his rational mind knew it was foolish to do so he made a mental note of the features of this man In the future Randidly would pay him back for his wild violence

Then a Vulpine stepped forward and casually grasped at the air The tentacles were frozen Then just as casually Raymund Ballast flicked his fingers forward You reap what you sow

There was only the faintest hint of it but even Randidly raised his eyebrows as he felt a massive image moving beneath the surface of RaymundÆs skin Helen told me that he was extremely powerful but this is even more impressive than I had imagined

After being stolenÆ and releasedÆ by that image those thousand tentacles struck downward at their original owner without the slightest hesitation Just before the blows landed the man seemed to realize what had happened but by then it was too late His body was paralyzed poisoned and pummelled by the touch of his own insidious image

Raymund raised his hand as though to strike a blow but paused as he saw the jellyfish man convulsing and foaming at the mouth in his small crater So instead Raymund turned away and slashed with his hand smashing away a dozen of the surrounding foes who had been moving forward under the cover of this assault

Randidly seized the jellyfish man around the waist with a root and tossed him away as the fight continued But instead of crashing to the ground the jellyfish man spun mid air and landed on his feet in a crouched position like a ninja Without hesitating at all he launched himself back toward the challenge RandidlyÆs lips twitched it seemed like his chance for revenge had come more rapidly than he had expected

Adding some backbone to the Skill with Yggdrasil Absolute Grasp reared up out of the ground with thick and thorny vines The jellyfish man skidded to a stop but the Skill moved too quickly for him to react He was smashed into the ground with enough force that his bones cracked and he bounced a meter into the air

Beside Randidly Banum frowned Mr Ghosthound I must object to your behavior It seems you removed this man before he

Congratulations Your Skill Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 354

Banum was cut off as he had to scramble to the side RandidlyÆs root had tossed the dazed man with a jellyfish image over toward their viewing area where he crashed precisely into the ground where Banum had been standing This time he had been too stunned by RandidlyÆs attack to make a flashy landing

You you The man with a jellyfish image wasnÆt so injured he didnÆt quickly recover so he rounded on Randidly with a furious scowl However Randidly allowed the ethereal flames of Weight to seep out of his skin and the words refused to come out of the manÆs throat He exchanged a helpless glance with Banum

Randidly smirked at that it was clear they knew each other Below the challenge continued unabated No image as powerful as the fuschia jellyfish came forward but his elite group was being pressured He could feel several powerful images from amongst his recruits taking turns flaring to life to push the enemies backward

You might have been fooled by his performance into thinking that DiÆirt was incapacitated but that was just a ruse Banum finally said as he mobilized his own image to resist the pressure that radiated outward from Randidly He spoke condescendingly as though this were RandidlyÆs first brush with combat Such tactics

WouldnÆt have fooled a Nether Gatekeeper Randidly responded with a sharp smile He was happy to throw this argument iback n this arrogant foolÆs face but starting to grow quite tired of this Such antics on a real battlefield would have meant that wait a second your name is dirt Ha

DiÆirt flushed visibly his fleshy skin moving closer to the fuschia of his jellyfish Banum scowled but seemed truly flummoxed by RandidlyÆs response So Randidly turned back to the Challenge below and placated the flames of rage in his chest Yet his emotional state had difficulty stabilizing when he had to watch his group struggle Truly these most recent assault groups were strong The elite group was triumphing in the face of superior numbers but they were taking losses to do it More and more enemy soldiers surged forward

Charlotte Wick occasionally released her Primal Force image infused with Yggdrasil It was a elk like monster with an absolutely massive pair of pale antlers It released waves of rejuvenating energy restoring the flagging Stamina of the elite group

Jieu Ronault also stepped forward mobilizing his field of starfire image with the added benefits of the Stillborn Phoenix Of all three of the images that Randidly had shared Jieu had acclimated the quickest to the improvements that he brought with him out of the shaft The new field of azure and black starfire was a roiling avalanche of emotions Whenever the opponents were gaining too much momentum he pulsed with power and smashed their emotions into a brief period of stunned submission

The formation of RandidlyÆs recruits shifted as Raymund BallastÆs squad fell to the core in order to deal with the most dangerous threats In the meantime Vizzeret Clamman moved to the vanguard where his Obsidian Wolf image endured the frequent battering of the opponents Still the blood of the Grim Chimera now flowed in the Obsidian Wolf

The image possessed a massive body of glossy black stone Each of its limbs was powerful and bulky yet for all that power it moved awkwardly Which of course was part of its transformation As more and more images smashed against its surface parts of the stone were cracked and broken revealing stronger flesh underneath

Very soon a streamlined and dominant physique was revealed as the shape grew closer and closer to perfection The shimmering Obsidian Wolf ran rampant slaughtering their foes

Influence +5

Randidly grinned over at Banum There are only five thousand recruits remaining versus about a hundred and twenty of my elites I must admit you were right about this Challenge bringing me a surprise I would have thought my group wouldnÆt have lost a single individual

BanumÆs frown steadily grew He didnÆt bother to respond to Randidly as the final group moved into the canyon

However these new arrivals made RandidlyÆs face fall into a similar expression This is going to be rough

Chapter 1596

In the small break before the last batch of enemy recruits arrived DiOrtho Vant frowned across the sundered ground of the canyon toward their approaching foes He tilted his head to the side You feel that arrogant reaction as they look at us

Next to him Raymund Ballast nodded They had spent so much time together running away from the fearful specter that was Vualla that they often understood each other implicitly humiliation Those warriors earnestly believe we have humiliated them by demonstrating our own fighting prowess And more than us they think that the Head Drill Sergeant has humiliated them and their masters purposefully They feel compelled to make a statement by slaughtering us

Taking it up the line that fuck Commandant Wick has humiliated them DiOrtho spat to the side I donÆt like this feeling in the air ItÆs turning way too bloody

The true worrisome fact is that they are much stronger than those that came before Raymund observed DiOrtho nodded and toyed with the ring on his left hand Without giving the Head Drill SergeantÆs group much time to recover their breath their opponents came steadily forward

Their break was over

Charlotte released another pulse of her Primal Force image but it was clear she was already exhausted by the long slog of fighting that had led them here Besides she only could mimic the rejuvenating force of Yggdrasil not completely display its power Although their Stamina kept being refilled it was the mental exhaustion from the consistent use of images that was beginning to accumulate

At the same time this tiredness almost increased the cohesion of the elite group For good or for ill this was the sort of scenario they were most familiar with due to the Overseers training When they could barely think was when the true difficulty always began during their sessions underneath Helen

Where their thoughts might tire their instincts would not

The foxman narrowed his eyes as he looked out toward the surging forces of their enemy DiOrtho remained crouching as their Squad slowly formed up around them And beyond that the other Squads slowly fell into a loose formation where they would be able to support each other

Raymund clicked his tongue This charge may break us

DiOrtho didnÆt bother to respond to that The foxman had always been way too pessimistic DiOrtho slowly stood still spinning his ring on his left hand around his finger These enemies moved quietly professionally as they approached There was no shouting or yelling no taunts or bravado

They were trained killers here to do their work Of all their training this was the closest the elites had ever been to an actual battlefield Everyone tightened their grips on their weapons and lowered their stances

The two sides smashed together the formations of both churning like hungry machines seeking to devour one another The elite group gave ground and flattened their lines while the attackers simply overwhelmed them with numbers Both sides flared their images resulting in a tenuous balance of power in the area The attackers probably could have broken through the images defenses in the front and achieved dominance but DiOrtho didnÆt miss the watchful eyes that went to the back of the elite formation where Raymund Ballast stood watching

The Vulpine became a counterweight He gave them just enough pause that they seemed to want to drag him out without playing all their cards Which meant that this battle would become one of attrition

Still DiOrtho quickly landed on the conclusion that the elite group would be pushed to breaking first Several lighting fast exchanges were happening every second and it did not go well for their side True they still held physical superiority due to their hellish three months of training but the difference with this newer group was much less decisive In addition these opponents were all veterans of prior combat Their muscle memory of life or death combat gave them a half step in bridging the distance between their physical gifts

With the addition of their superior numbers it was more than enough to begin to break down the elite groupÆs squad based tactics The Squad Leaders of each Squad had to handle more and more pressure as they became the only individuals with enough power to inflict serious blows on their foes Small wounds became medium wounds which became large wounds

The pace was quickly becoming unsustainable

Vizzeret Clamman spurted blood from his body with every movement His breaths were shuddering gasps Kallum XeruthÆs skin was even more bloodless than usual as his quick and misleading movements possessing a smaller and smaller space for him to move as he was hemmed in Charlotte Wick was impaled by a lance in her left shoulder earning a growl and spin that shattered the weapon and knocked three attackers backward But her arm curled weakly against her side

Their opponentÆs pounced forward smelling blood

DiOrtho cracked his neck My turn I suppose

RaymundÆs tongue lolled out of the side of his mouth Be careful An overwhelming offensive now might

But RaymundÆs words were cut off as DiOrtho spat out a Fuck and accelerated forward Out of the crowd of pressing bodies that were all lashing out at the elite group a woman with short grey hair shot forward Charlotte Wick was the target and jerked around at a speed that showed her previous stiffness hadnÆt been entirely honest But to this woman the deceit mattered not at all

She pulled a massive hammer off of her shoulder and swung the weapon in a swift arc toward Charlotte The Primal Force raised its head and roared but the woman with short grey hair conjured a grey specter of death that suppressed the exhausted Primal Force With her image crumbling Charlotte desperately raised her arms to block the blow

DiOrtho saw the bear womanÆs shoulder shatter and accelerated forward Behind him a clicking metal demon ripped through space and arrived at their plane of existence with a caustic pollution belching out of its mouth Its chest was assembled from blood covered brass gears and its limbs were rusted blades Above its head floated a rotating black cube

The Machine Horror screeched and shredded the specter of death in front of it sending the woman stumbling as she dashed after the crumpled form of Charlotte But before DiOrtho could take advantage of the weakness around fifty of the enemies moved forward to suppress him Their images moved in tandem and thick bleached bones shot up to hem in DiOrthoÆs movements

His eyes burned as he glowered around at these foes You think this is enough Fuck treating me like common trash

With a hum the mass of seemingly meaningless cords and rusted metal bars on the Machine HorrorÆs back sprung into motion Shuddering those pieces stretched outward until they formed a pair of tattered upside down metal wings Just as quickly two more pairs of upside down wings stretched farther down the Machine HorrorÆs back Space around the Machine Horror began to ripple with the faintest sense of true divinity

The ancient god that DiOrtho had once imagined was now real and furious When he stepped forward DiOrtho had to carefully control himself not to slaughter the other recruits with the force of his charge He felt their images tear slightly from his ferocity but believed it was a fitting punishment Besides his wife wasnÆt here to nag him about being too forceful The bone prison fractured and fell away as the creatorÆs collapsed with blood leaking from their ears and noses

But while he was distracted the woman had shot forward She thrust her hammer straight outward like a spear collapsing CharlotteÆs chest with the heavy blow The bear closed her eyes in pain her image dissipating A vine snaked out and wrapped around CharlotteÆs waist she had been defeated and the Ghosthound was removing her from contention

DiOrtho grimaced Without Charlotte to assist with their recovery their formation would soon buckle even if he and Raymund mobilized themselves

But to his surprise this wasnÆt the end The grey specter of death shimmered next to the rapidly retreating form of Charlotte and the grey haired woman suddenly was there her hammer raised above her head She brought a blow down toward the defenseless Charlotte where it was blocked by six thick roots that spun together and batted the attack away

But the woman dissipated again appearing once more next to Charlotte This time she thrust her heavy hammer directly toward the back of CharlotteÆs skull

Do you have a fucking deathwish

The entire battle stilled as the Ghosthound was suddenly there holding the shattered wrist of the grey haired woman His eyes were so bright that DiOrtho could barely look at him The grey haired woman whimpered as strange ethereal flames sprung out of the Head Drill SergeantÆs skin Meanwhile her skin began to black and blister Somehow the air in the surrounding space started to swirl inward toward the Ghosthound He became the focal point on which everything hinged

If you want to die you should have just said so The Ghosthound continued He continued twisting the woman’s arm until her legs collapsed out from under her Then he began to pull on the arm as though he were curious about the outcome He didnÆt even seem to be trying not a single bit of definition could be seen on his muscles He was a child pinning a spider to the ground That was the absolute difference in their existences You had defeated her and I was removing her from the battle You went for the killing blow after I blocked you I can only assume that means youÆve made peace with your fate

H H H Head D Drill Sergeant G G Ghosthound Suddenly another dozen Drill Sergeants arrived on the scene a full second behind the Head Drill Sergeant Cease this at once How dare you intervene in the Challenge I will

The Ghosthound looked up with disinterest He continued pulling on the womanÆs arm DiOrtho could see the joint of her shoulder collapse and the muscles begin to tear The skin of her forearm continued to burn away Ashes began to drift down from the portions the Ghosthound was touching You appointed me as referee She attacked with intent to kill despite the fact her foe was already defeated Or do you mean to tell me that your recruits werenÆt under strict orders not to kill

That that is The Drill Sergeant that had first spoken hesitated

Another stepped forward this time with a harder cast to his eyes You go too far Military Dog

DiOrtho felt chills running through his body as he saw the Ghosthound calmly smile over at the Drill Sergeant who challenged him He had never seen the expression on the GhosthoundÆs face before but it was one he had the utmost familiarity with that ancient being that recruited DiOrtho only smiled so sweetly before going on a rampage

DiOrtho glanced over his shoulder at Raymund who met his eyes once again they were thinking the same thing

To so casually move a blade to take the life of an ally she needs to be punished The Ghosthound said lightly He began to twist the arm His gaze drifted over to the recruits not in the elite squad who currently were glaring at him with obvious hatred Their desire to return this humiliation was palpable

The Ghosthound barred his teeth After I finish here you kids can continue with your games

If you do not release her The second Drill Sergeant stepped forward A rumbling force was rising in his body The madness in the GhosthoundÆs expression grew sharper His smile widened releasing even more pressure into the surrounding space

DiOrtho could see that the woman the Ghosthound held couldnÆt even breathe from the weight of his presence Carbonized flesh drifted down onto the ground beneath her

Most people present might not recognize the change but suddenly these individuals were no longer themselves but representatives of the factions behind them Military High Command grinned over at the furious Nexus Labor Council The bad blood between them bubbled and seethed

DiOrtho could see that the Ghosthound had completely lost his temper when they tried to attack Charlotte and wasnÆt willing to back down Meanwhile the other side had been waiting for a chance to prove themselves and discredit the Head Drill Sergeant

Into that space Raymund Ballast stepped No one noticed him as he reached out once twice three times Only on the third grab did he manage to steal a portion of that horrifying pressure the Ghosthound released and DiOrtho didnÆt miss the way that Raymund immediately put his grabbing arm behind his back the act of taking had somehow shattered the bones of his forearm

But when the pressure eased everyone looked at Raymund With his tongue lolling outside of his mouth the Vulpine grinned The elite squad concedes the Challenge We are very thankful for the veteransÆ assistance in teaching us a final lesson before the deployment Which means we have no more reason to waste time here correct Head Drill Sergeant

Chapter 1597

Randidly looked at Raymund Ballast with narrowed eyes barely suppressing his urge to growl Something feral had risen up inside of him a primal force that had the same roots as his newfound ability to understand and utilize his emotions

But this time this emotional acuity was strangling his rational thoughts All that power had flared to life at once in a very passable imitation of the way RandidlyÆs skin turned red and he hissed out water vapor when at his most physically capable The emotional power was just as incendiary and the current Randidly couldnÆt quite manage it

It was only now when his eyes landed on Raymund that the pulsing waves of red that Randidly saw finally ebbed

Every time he tried to force his rage downward his mind responded by reminding him of the purposeful way that the grey haired woman had avoided his non lethal defenses and attempted to kill Charlotte Wick The merest hit of that memory poured gasoline on the flames of his rage His hand on the womanÆs arm tightened and Randidly felt what remained of her arm crumble beneath his fingers

He had ground her limb to dust in the most painful way he could manage Such a demonstration should be enough

It didnÆt feel like enough

With a snort Randidly released the limb and watched it disintegrate Then he glared down at the top of her head wishing he could make the wound a more permanent one His fingers twitched

After several seconds of internal struggle RandidlyÆs eyes swept sideways Around him all was silent Significance poured into him more every second Both his elite group and the special forcesÆ arranged by the NLC and its allies had their eyes fixed on him The Drill Sergeant near Banum who Randidly didnÆt recognize appeared to be the leader And as their gazes met Randidly felt that this man was strong enough to pose a threat

He was tempted to fight A part of him demanded that his fury be sated Yet Randidly closed his eyes and released a breath The entire problem was that this emotional outpouring had taken him by surprise The shade had likely dealt with similar issues but its existence likely had made it immune to the warping effect these emotions held

The novel experience did not mean Randidly was helpless however He pressed down and forced his rage into a dormant state

At the moment he was inconvenient for most of the NLC The Swacc Family might care enough to push Velio Dunn toward him but otherwise he was a meaningless servant of Commandant Wick to most Taking an aggressive stand here would change that Hurting the special forces group would concretely impact the plans of others Suddenly Randidly would become a painful thorn in the side of those that had moved to earn contributions in this war

Quietly The Stillborn Phoenix shifted in his chest In the harsh moment of churning significance it opened its maw and slurped down the suppressed inferno of rage that Randidly carried In a split second all that remained inside of him was a chilling practicality

His emerald eyes cut through apart those who would resist him as he studied them

Congratulations Your Skill Tide of the Void has grown to Level 300

With his newly frigid heart Randidly stood at the center of their attention and absorbed the focus of the surroundings This strained moment was an exceptional one because he could intuit how to better wield his Weight by observing the way significance moved amongst his watchers The natural flow of Nether was an inspiration as always

Feeling that the moment had lasted long enough Randidly and his frigid heart smiled slowly if the elite squad surrendered I guess there is nothing I can say Heh LetÆs get out of here recruits You deploy in six hours

Congratulations Your Skill The Torch of Fast and Slow Silences has grown to Level 262

Congratulations Your Skill The Torch of Fast and Slow Silences has grown to Level 263

For good measure Randidly released a powerful pulse of YggdrasilÆs image in the surrounding area Some part of him didnÆt want to do it but the image served two purposes First this image would heal both his recruits and the other recruits that had already fought most of whom werenÆt affiliated with the NLC at all Their special forces possessed barely any injured as Randidly had intervened relatively early in the confrontation so they barely benefited from the image Randidly still didnÆt like it but the fact most of them couldnÆt benefit from the healing wave made the action easier to swallow

Randidly threw every ounce of his Willpower behind that image The tree that blossomed into existence was massive its thick brown bark covered in the curving script that described the entire world Golden light pulsed from those runes while the heavy emerald canopy above rustled lightly from an invisible wind

Specters of songbirds and deer flitted back and forth without producing any noise But these citizens of YggdrasilÆs environment were rendered in heart wrenching detail Randidly had fashioned these beings to lend credence to his powerful image after the shade had expanded its scope in the shaft Feeling the way his flames of Weight crackled pleasantly around his body Randidly knew that he had done a good job

The World Tree was the core From that core a wave of rejuvenating energy spread quickly outward He didnÆt hold anything back this was the sort of sweet and refreshing blast that could heal hidden mental scars and relieve stress The energy was that pure radiation that earned Yggdrasil its status as a godlike existence

Even some of the Drill Sergeants were stunned None could speak Randidly saw that some suddenly had tears running down their cheeks without even realizing what was happening to them The exposure to RandidlyÆs image was too different too new too wondrous for them to process

When his recruits didnÆt move immediately as the image faded Randidly gestured sharply with his metal hand Soon his exhausted recruits snapped to attention and formed back up into their Squads Despite their surrender they marched out of the area with their heads held high

Banum Voloppesett bit his lips but didnÆt say anything as the group departed Motes of golden light drifted down from the fading Yggdrasil seeming to enforce the sanctity of this moment Randidly smirked as his eyes slid to the Drill Sergeant next to Banum He also seemed like he had something to say but he couldnÆt figure out what he wanted to stay The tension in the air had been thoroughly suppressed by the aura of vitality that Yggdrasil could generate

Congratulations Your Skill Conviction of the Smiling Horror has grown to Level 391

Running through the core of RandidlyÆs image was a firm flow of Nether strengthening the image further None could say a word as they left Which was the entire point the second reason that Randidly had utilized Yggdrasil so publicly and at his full strength was to give them a taste of his full power

Letting the watchers feel like they understood his capability was the bait portion of his short term plan after all

At the last second as they were leaving Randidly turned and glanced behind him at that strange Drill Sergeant who had the nerve to flare his image in front of him Their eyes met again but this time Randidly didnÆt bother to screen the frigid remnants of his emotions settling into hatred He smiled lightly IÆll remember you

Then they left quickly returning to their portion of the FIfth Cohort Rally Station But their stay here was short as well soon Helen and Heiffal had all the forces lined up to be marched to the teleporter They would have six hours of freedom inside the Nexus before proceeding to the Fifth Cohort where combat was already breaking out in multiple areas

Before she left Helen passed along a request from Raymund Ballast in exchange for his continued loyalty he hoped that Randidly would help Ballast find his brother Randidly was still somewhat sour that Raymund had stepped forward and surrendered but he understood that it was the right move It had given him the breath he needed not to make more enemies than he could currently handle So he acquiesced and spread the word to his Overseers Edraine and Lady Iellaya to see if they found anything about this missing brother

Randidly also frowned at the last message the brother had sent passed along by Raymund So this too has to do with the Swacc Family huh

Currently he didnÆt have the spare time to help with the search Randidly wanted to take care of a very dangerous problem now while he had some relative freedom So after his recruits went through the Head Drill Sergeant followed them to the Nexus using the official teleporters As he did so his mind went to his current situation

As Head Drill Sergeant his responsibility had run its course He no longer had any authority over his recruits and he was basically now given time off he did not need to proceed to the Fifth Cohort to help with the war against Nether However for EdraineÆs plan to proceed they still needed more genuine Nexus Citizenship coins The original plan was for him to find himself an assignment on the Fifth Cohort anyway perhaps under the command of Lady Iellaya and acquit himself honorably enough to be rewarded

Arriving at the Nexus proper Randidly glanced around Within a few seconds he had oriented himself Because he had obtained the directions to his destination beforehand Randidly didnÆt hesitate when he walked out of the main teleportation terminal of the Nexus He ignored the tightly packed streets that led down to the various military and civilian facilities and proceeded directly through to the entrance to the Web There he dropped down and allowed the natural pull of the significance below to accelerate him

The other alternative to going to the Fifth Cohort was to spend time training himself now that he had no responsibilities Indeed the whole reason he had worked so hard to train his recruits was so that they would be able to achieve significant results without him And obviously training was attractive to his long term prospects and if he was willing to brave the shaft he could take advantage of the extreme time dilation but a few things stopped him

First his current order of business was to bring out the full potential of the Skills he already had He needed genuine combat to get used to utilizing his Nether Weight In addition Randidly wanted to be in situations where he could test the limits of his newfound emotional capabilities

Second if he went to the Fifth Cohort he would be able to protect his recruits After seeing Charlotte Wick wounded RandidlyÆs hands clenched as he utilized Hallucination of the Bloodless Heart to slow his descent in the Web He swung off of some of the cords and landed next to a side hatch that opened easily under his hands

Randidly walked forward and shaded his eyes The false environment created in this dome included a bright and hot sun that seemed to hang in the sky over him A workgroup bearing NLC logos paused in their gossiping next to several sandstone pillars to look over at the new arrival Randidly inwardly released a breath when they turned away without any response it seemed his likeness hadnÆt been distributed

Lowering his head Randidly began to walk forward through the sandy street

Third Randidly was still uneasy about returning to the shaft for now The significance was no longer a danger to him and he could handle the automatons but he didnÆt want to risk that there were additional dangers lurking down there that he hadnÆt yet discovered Even if it was just the fact that the tag on Randidly could track him Randidly didnÆt want any information to leak out that he was willingly back within the shaft

It was one thing for Randidly to have managed a heroic escape despite all odds from the hellish place It was another thing for him to feel so comfortable that he could return Randidly didnÆt pay attention to much but EdraineÆs emphasis oh how much had been done to protect the secret laying at the base of the shaft made him suspect that those in the know might notice if someone seemed to be able to move freely toward their secret

Randidly paused as he finally moved past several small sandstone buildings and could see the massive alabaster building behind them A massive white pyramid dominated the skyline in front of him with all the subtlety of a mountain He pressed his lips together as he read the Engraving Guild sign stretching ten meters up above him The entire building was so massive that a small country could fit inside of it Clicking his tongue he moved along the side of the massive building to a smaller tunnel that led into the ground

Dealing with that tag is exactly why he was here

Down in the tunnel Randidly had to step to the side as a woman with emerald hair rushed past with tears coursing down her face He paused and glanced over his shoulder at the woman until she dashed up the steps and he could no longer hear her sobs It was with a raised eyebrow that Randidly proceeded forward to open the door into the underground agency

A bored looking young man with short black wings poking out of his back didnÆt even up from his deck as Randidly walked into the room Please put your credentials on the desk and IÆll get to you shortly

IÆm not sure what you mean by credentials Randidly said dryly IÆm here to see Nathaz Eloise Let him know that Randidly Ghosthound is here to see him

Chapter 1598

At RandidlyÆs name the man at the desk paused in his listless examination of the papers in front of him He looked up at Randidly with widening eyes Then he hiccuped while his small wings fluttered rapidly the right one moving faster than the left

Randidly suppressed the urge to grin at the fool They might not know what I look like but it seems they recognize me by name Which is both reassuring that IÆm not paranoid but also makes my life more difficult

Uh M Mr Ghosthound The young man stuttered His eyes kept getting wider and wider as he stared at Randidly The rest of the office was bare with long hallways leading out to the left and right from the bland starting room The building material of the tunnels was heavy and grey green as though the stone were partially covered in moss You without an appointment Ah

Randidly smiled at the young man No harm in asking right He owes me that much

He owes me all that and more due to the way he put Vualla in danger by tracking my whereabouts A flinty Randidly thought beneath his casual expression All I need to do now is find out whether the leash was purposeful And whether there is anything that I can do about it now

Ah yes IÆll just The young man stood up abruptly and turned away only to trip over his chair and sprawl out on the ground Randidly twitched in amusement for the first time since the Challenge the embers of his fury dimmed Was this young man truly such a low Level that he could trip accidentally

When the young man hopped to the feet and looked back over his shoulder his nose was running Then he dashed off to the left leaving Randidly alone in the waiting room The echoing footfalls of the retreating clerk sped off into the distance

Scratching his cheek Randidly looked around they didnÆt even have any chairs for individuals to recline while they waited But he supposed that this sort of place wasnÆt really a doctorÆs office With a shrug Randidly moved behind the lone desk and sat in the young manÆs chair He yawned and leaned back His emotions still pulsed with tension but the shock of seeing the young man trip had helped Randidly adjust his mental state Even if he didnÆt want to admit it the wounded specter of Charlotte Wick was still haunting him

Finally she had begun to fade Life moved forward

Maybe I should have visited her to make sure she was alright RandidlyÆs heart tightened unpleasantly He felt guilty for allowing her to be so seriously wounded I suppose I should still be able to as long as this meeting doesnÆt take too long

Randidly looked up at the sound of footsteps but narrowed his eyes when he realized that they were coming from the entrance tunnel not from the way that the young man had fled A few seconds later and a familiar figure walked through the doorway with words flying out of he mouth Inform Gabriel Swacc that I Oh Oh my What a delightful surprise Surely you donÆt belong here Randidly Ghost

Neshamah Rex walked forward through the door with a small smile on her face after recognizing Randidly but just as soon as she did so and examined him more fully her words stumbled to a halt Her eyes widened in a queer mimicry of the expression of the young man earlier although for very different reasons Waves of shock rolled off of her

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 393

Randidly grinned wickedly First he tagged the name Neshamah said as the same one that Raymund Ballast had just asked him about earlier in the day Apparently Gabriel Swacc had something to do with the difference of Techetadore Ballast Second he could easily tell the reason for her shock when she viewed him fully she had been stopped dead by the unmistakable energy of his Nether Core flowing around his body

Almost instantly Randidly adjusted the thick flows around him screen his core from NeshamahÆs vision as she had done to him on their first meeting with a playful wink In addition Randidly used this opportunity to study the Nether flows that he could rapidly parse apart around her his senses were much more acute at this moment than they had been previously

Her shock put Neshamah a half step behind Randidly in obscuring her Nether Core and that time was all Randidly needed to peer through the veil and briefly glimpse the Engravings that were the source of her significance His eyes glimmered While RandidlyÆs Nether Core was currently a Runic Nether Core NeshamahÆs was already a Mythic two tiers above him Yet if they were to compare either their Weight or the raw power coming off of the significance in their cores

Randidly pressed his lips together to keep himself from smirking The Path I ended up taking was the right one

Neshamah blinked again but soon she managed to return to that familiar expression of relaxation and control My my my youÆve certainly been busy over the last two weeks It seems you wonÆt need my assistance at all to manage all that pesky Nether And your Nether Core is robust to be sure You made a deal with the Engraving Guild then

To that question Randidly didnÆt bother to answer A fear he hadnÆt even realized that he had that his Nether Core was somehow deficient even after carefully studying the Nether Gatekeepers in the shaft was alleviated by their comparative capabilities He simply shrugged After she had treated Randidly so dismissively in their first meeting it felt nice to keep Neshamah in the dark

Besides it was interesting to learn that the Engraving Guild had the capability to produce Nether Cores The process required Engraving knowledge but also some ability to sense and control Nether The more he learned about the various organizations within the Nexus the more he realized that there were a lot of powerful factions lurking beneath the surface

Tsk sorta seems like I owe Raymund a favor from keeping me from slaughtering all those Drill Sergeants Randidly thought inwardly Who knows who I would have had on my ass in the aftermath and I might have no choice but to go to the Commandant for support Urgh

Neshamah pursed her lips the first shift away from her easy and free expression of their interactions to this point Her eyes flashed with a harsh light IÆm honestly disappointed Even from just looking at the density of Nether around you you have so much potential Had so much potential More potential than most people IÆve encountered but ultimately if you hitch yourself to the Engraving GuildÆs precious Lattice your growth will be stopped short A Runic Nether Core is all you will ever be You must have brought them quite a lot to even get this far

By the end of her statement NeshamahÆs voice became cold and condescending all of the previous playful interest in her eyes was gone Randidly was slightly bewildered by the change Did the RexÆs have a bad relationship with the Engraving Guild And what was the Lattice that she referred to

As Randidly opened his mouth to respond the young man and his fluttering black wings scrambled back into the room He was panting likely because he seemed to have dashed the entire way to his destination Ah Mr Ghosthound Nathaz says

The young man froze again at the sight of Neshamah This time his left wing fluttered too quickly to follow R R R R R R R

HeÆs just down this way Randidly asked unwilling to allow the young manÆs slow motion heart attack to proceed any further After a strangled gulp the young man nodded Randidly straightened from the desk and turned to look at Neshamah

Although her eyes showed only distaste Randidly winked at her Goodbye Miss Neshamah Perhaps in another two weeks IÆll prove you wrong once again Then he turned and walked away down the hallway

Eventually he reached an intersection with several signs one of which directed him toward the offices of Nathaz Eloise As he proceeded deeper through the corridors he encountered intersection after intersection leading down into a maze of dank offices and strange workers Several times RandidlyÆs determined walk meant that he passed by a half dozen different beings that were drifting back and forth through the hallways Most seemed hollow eyed and exhausted barely even bothering to acknowledge Randidly

With a bemused expression on his face Randidly finally arrived at the door that he had been looking for After knocking he let himself into the room

RandidlyÆs first impression of the room was of an angsty teenager’s room due to the sense of clutter and dim lighting but it wasnÆt exactly accurate to call the place dirty Maps covered the wall on his left strange graphs on the right with two large terminals sat directly opposite him The reason that the room appeared messyÆ was that there were wooden spikes sticking out from every surface The bristled out from the floor and wall making space that was otherwise empty appear rather full

Nathaz Eloise raised his scaled head A serpentÆs tongue flicked out tasting the air So itÆs true YouÆve finally arrived Mr Ghosthound Ah the joy of finally meeting the progenitor of so many rare phenomena within the System Come in let me have a look at you

While Randidly stepped forward the obsidian serpent began to shift Truly Nathaz Eloise was entirely a serpent his massive body stretched after his triangular head for about ten meters although it was difficult to accurately gauge the size wound and wrapped as it was around the dozens of wooden spikes sticking out from the walls The snake shifted some of its bulk and freed up its body so it could raise its head to about RandidlyÆs height As the two looked at each other in the eyes Nathaz opened his mouth slightly

Honestly this guy is a bit The shadow y opening of the snakeÆs still mouth was somewhat off putting

Randidly was about to open his mouth and speak when the snake released a soft hiss Mr Ghosthound I am truly sorry for how things turned out The mark that I had left on you so I could study some of the other System deviations around your person has now been used by those who wish to do you harm Please you have my deepest apologies

Randidly tilted his head to the side His physical and emotional senses examine the serpent in front of him His heartbeat remained even The expression on the snakeÆs face as much as Randidly could understand it was genuine Still it struck Randidly as strange that this topic came up so quickly after he had arrived without him even bringing it up as long as you understand After I condensed my Fatepiece I took some actions that drew quite a bit of negative attention my way So at the time your actions really werenÆt even that important

ItÆs just since then that IÆve developed such a nose for trouble Randidly thought even as he tried to gauge the honesty of the snake in front of him Then he started to wonder where everything had gone wrong

Even if it was just the disappearance of Ileot Swacc RandidlyÆs proximity to the event meant that he was no longer the nobody he had been before Combined with the fact that Randidly and his images had a concrete effect on the outcome of the battle against the false Nether King

Even so I abused my authority to satisfy my own curiosity and it has caused you grief NathazÆs tongue snaked out again As such I owe you Ah I might not look it but I am actually quite sensitive to such obligations It has been difficult for me to stop thinking about what I owe So I have a gift prepared for our first meeting

That had RandidlyÆs attention A gift

Nathaz nodded I can give you the location of your next Fatepiece In addition I have found its name The Hierarchy of Burden “

Chapter 1599

Thank you for the information about my Fatepiece Randidly said slowly He memorized that Fatepiece named repeating it silently to himself The Hierarchy of Burden Tsk I wonder how this relates to being an Alchemist

But Randidly wasnÆt distracted from his main purpose in coming to this place just by news of his Fatepiece he had bigger fish to fry However finding the other pieces of my Fateset is meaningless if my enemies can continue to track me Eventually IÆll be ambushed and they will succeed at killing me So tell me Nathaz who is so sorry is there any way for you to remove the tracker on me

Although Randidly didnÆt mean for his voice to rise he felt a little bit of his anger seep to the surface as he spoke Yet Nathaz Elosie didnÆt appear to notice he placidly flicked out his tongue and shifted his body amongst the wooden spokes of the room It appeared that the snake was considering the problem

Well it is not impossible Nathaz spoke in his raspy voice after several long seconds of silence There are two methods to do it However neither is very easy

Just tell me Randidly growled this time allowing the ethereal flames of Weight from his Nether Core to come to the surface He still wasnÆt quite sure the exact role of Weight but he could feel the heavy pressure he released by virtue of only his existence

Unfortunately the reaction he received wasnÆt very satisfying The snake nodded and shifted its head toward one of the terminals ItÆs tail lazily unspooled itself from the roof and dropped in front of Randidly flicking to indicate that he should follow him So Randidly walked over and stood behind Nathaz as he turned on the terminal

To explain we should start with a base understanding of what I do Nathaz said slowly I am officially an Administrative Monitor within the NLC specifically I monitor actions within the Nexus primarily looking for changes within the System But of course the original System is entirely self contained and entirely inscrutable Which was why the Overlay System was created in the first place Not only does it inform us of what has occurred in the System but by observing its movements Monitors like me can also figure out the general state of the System That is to say spot and anticipate patterns in the System using that data to predict changes

NathazÆs tongue flicked out several times His body undulated slightly and his head began to creep closer to the terminal in front of him For the first time since Randidly arrived the cold blooded creatureÆs heart rate steadily rose Randidly frowned at the back of NathazÆs head Is he just getting really excited talking about this Must really love his job

It is the dream of a monitor like me to witness a comprehensive shift in the under System ah thatÆs what we call the original System There have only been three such shifts in the recorded history of the Nexus Nathaz turned his head to look at Randidly and appeared to notice the frown of impatience on his face and the flames of Weight that flickered around him

Hissing lightly Nathaz turned forward and flicked his tongue out to hit some keys The terminal display changes shifting to a complex network of Aether infrastructure Even Randidly frowned when he was presented with those dense networks of energy connections Ah excuse me This is about your tracker ahem After a few dangerous incidents that occurred in the Third and Fourth Cohorts our leader Elhume erected a few stopgaps that utilized the overlay System to induce a pause in the under System that required a monitor to approve before the machinery can fully engage In this manner we miss less of the very important data points that might indicate

The tracker Randidly growled in exasperation for the third time But although he put up a strong front he was rather interested in the content that Nathaz was explaining He just wished the snake seemed a little more reliable about reaching his main point Surely this amount of background was sufficient

Ah Ah NathazÆs tongue flicked out several times as he gathered his thoughts Basically I slipped a harmless bit of Aether in the gapÆ created as the overlay System paused the under System The only notable thing about this Aether chain is that its relatively easy to locate for the Nexus Scanners As for eliminating it you have two options The first ahem To complete your Fateset then the overlay System will disengage and that piece of Aether will just fall away

And the other option Randidly asked Obviously he planned on completing his Fateset eventually but at his current speed that would mean he would need to survive intermittent attacks from Velio Dunn and his ilk for the next few years

Less than ideal Randidly clicked his tongue

Nathaz pressed on the terminal again with his tongue Soon there was an extremely dense construction of Aether on the screen It was a million 3D puzzle pieces stacked in a pulsing organism The different pieces shifted and spun constantly going through several revolutions After a few seconds of watching Randidly realized what was on the screen was his own Class Skills and Fateset

This was him Or at least the him that the System could see

Nathaz paused the screen All the movement of the pieces ceased Right here The second method would be to have a skilled manipulator of Aether forcibly annihilate the tracer but due to the complexity even the best are all but guaranteed to destroy a portion of your Aether in the process except if they were to reach in exactly as you found a new piece of your Fateset At that moment the overlay System disengages and re engages Right then it would be possible

RandidlyÆs eyes began to glow

The snake cleared his throat If you need an expert I would be perfectly willing

No need Randidly chuckled I have this covered

Raymund Ballast was at peace as he strode through the portal and stepped onto the Fifth Cohort for the first time His stomach twinged slightly from the sense of wrongness and warped space he experienced from crossing such a vast distance But then Raymund was standing face to face with a tired seeming Sergeant who gestured for Raymund to move off the platform and make room for the next arrival

The Vulpine took several steps forward and looked up at the sky An enormous dark moon loomed over the Aether headquarters Thin streams of darkness wound their way down to the surface of this planet showing how even now the Nether forces were launching a continual offensive as they tried to fold the space inward and collapse the whole o the Fifth Cohort

This place was about to become a battlefield But there was no fear in RaymundÆs heart only resolve

The strange circumstances of the Ghosthound meant that Raymund was powerful In addition the Head Drill Sergeant had now agreed to help him search for his brother Techetadore That in combination with the very real power that Raymund could wield meant that it was almost guaranteed that he would find a clue as long as he survived this experience

Raymund smiled as he looked up at the Nether offensive Although it had taken a long time to reach this juncture now that he was here

There was a flicker in the corner of his eye and RaymundÆs blood froze in his veins He was standing in the crowded landing area outside the military teleporter where groups of people in disheveled uniforms hurried back and forth with scrolls or parcels or weapons Several large canvas tents were erected nearby and a few wagons filled with foodstuffs and more tent materials were waiting patiently to be unloaded

But around the back of one of those wagons Raymund saw a familiar ghost Three tails disappeared around the large wagon just as he had noticed them Three tailed Vulpines basically didnÆt exist aside from Raymund himself who was the first to be born in six hundred years But had there been even more tails that Raymund hadnÆt noticed on that briefly glimpsed figure

Techet Raymund mumbled His muscles spasmed and he took a half step forward His heart ached thinking about all the struggles he had gone through to get to this point After another step RaymundÆs body finally began to thaw through his shock His third step cracked the ground beneath him and teleported him to the back of the wagon in question Brother

RaymundÆs eyes cut through the surroundings His new position gave him a better view of the military camp A long thoroughfare was lined with off duty military personnel who gossiped and stared up at the heavy moon above them with a grim expression But Raymund ignored those unimportant individuals and continued to search down the long line of tents At the other end of the path fully a hundred meters away a six tailed fox was calmly rounding a corner

Raymund planted his foot again and accelerated ignoring the sharp bark of protest by a higher ranking soldier nearby He wove his way through the foot traffic and stacked crates to the end of the lane and looked down at a meandering road leading into a deep valley The fox he was pursuing was already at the bottom of the valley passing into the low hills that stretched out below

His instincts whispered that this was foolish but Raymund didnÆt listen to that voice at all He would never mistake those tails he had previously spent years teased apart by jealousy and guilt whenever he thought about those meaningless appendages It was only after five years of putting his life on the line without worrying about the passage of time that Raymund now had the perspective to understand his brilliant and capricious younger brother

The negative emotions he had buried in his heart became a barrier that couldnÆt be crossed Which was why his younger brother grew up even more lonely than Raymund had

As he raced down across the road and into the low hills RaymundÆs gaze softened Techet Apologies cannot convey my regret I was your older brother Your auspicious birth was all the sign that the elders needed to lash our entire culture to your cart and I shouldnÆt have turned a blind eye and added my small burdens onto you as well I should have supported you not envied you

I was supposed to have strength enough to make your life easier But I just

Beyond the hills was a bubbling creek Beyond that creek were a few sandy ravines Raymund ignored the surroundings and chased As the pursuit continued he loosened more and more of the limitations he had placed on his physical Skills Very soon he was moving at his full speed still just barely moving fast enough to catch glimpse of Techetadore

And in his wake Raymund left a trail of sundered ground and destroyed vegetation The physical force he mobilized was no joke Yet no matter his desperation the distance didnÆt shorten at all

It was only when they began traveling up a low slope to a snow covered mountain that Raymund felt a flash of hope There standing only fifty meters above him on the slope was Techetadore He looked down on his older brother his familiar impish grin on his face His six red tails flared out behind him

T Techetadore Raymund was breathing heavily but not from having to run after his brother He took another step and the distance between them was cut down to only five meters Raymund sniffed it wasnÆt an illusion This was his brotherÆs scent

Sorry bro I didnÆt notice you were behind me Techetadore laughed His eyes crinkled at the corners Although so much time had passed in RaymundÆs experience his brother was so achingly familiar that tears welled up in his eyes Raymund took another step forward still barely believing what his senses were telling him After worrying about his brother and the mysterious message about Gabriel Swacc for so long this reunion didnÆt feel real It was difficult to even breathe

TechetadoreÆs hand flicked sideways RaymundÆs eyes widened Then he blinked

His torn and blood esophagus bounced across the mountain road until it rolled to a stop in a ditch

While RaymundÆs mind was floundering to understand what was happening Techetadore stepped forward A strange image rose up within his younger brotherÆs body more powerful than anything that Raymund had ever sensed before More powerful than even the Ghosthound or Lady Vualla had been able to produce When Techetadore thrust his palm forward Raymund couldnÆt muster a response through the thick crust of shock that had seized his limbs This was all too much too soon with too little sense to the scenes that Raymund was experiencing

The blow hit him in the breastbone and collapsed his chest cavity All that remained of his lungs and heart were mushy goo Raymund collapsed forward before Techetadore all of his confidence had become nothing

He hadnÆt even recognized a threat until the moment he was dying

Sorry bro That image of yours is just a bit too similar to mine for comfort Techetadore said still cheerily He crouched next to his brother and patted his cheek If things were different well hopefully they will be different soon Haah IÆm getting tired of this farce

The remnant muscles in RaymundÆs body were seizing His vision was going hazy Somehow he seized on this lack of breath So long as he could breathe he would finally be able to understand what was happening He could speak and ask Techetadore

So Raymund raised his hand His consciousness was fuzzy but his powerful Willpower mobilized in his hand to steal the breath from the sky

Techetadore kicked RaymundÆs forearm and shattered the limb Then the six tailed Vulpine clicked his tongue You tenacious bastard What did you

Before Techetadore could continue there was the sound of a new arrival walking toward them Ah Cain youÆre back Did you manage Ah by the spear did you kill someone Such an action will accumulate inauspicious karma

RaymundÆs head rolled weakly backward as Techetadore straightened and laughed Ah Commander Shal youÆre too stuffy IsnÆt death inevitable in this world Besides you know that it would only mean trouble if someone knew what we are doing here What would the population think if they knew that the Nexus had been domesticating Nether Kings for one thousand years

You bah Well the blood is on your hands Return with me The operation is about to begin

So the two left letting Raymund slowly cool on the ground After that first effort that was interrupted by Techetadore his Willpower was ebbing Everything steadily grew darker around him as though the lights of the world were being lowered A buzzing filled his ears

I regret my own failure to protect him Raymund could find no energy in his body to curse his fate Rather what he felt was remorse This whatever the current Techetadore has become I bear a share of the responsibility

Raymund closed his eyes On that mountain some distance away from the main base of the Aether Forces his body began to cool

Chapter 1600

So the next giver of the Fatepiece is Shal huh Randidly said quietly to himself as he exited the underground tunnel After finding out his solution he and Nathaz talked a little bit further especially about the capabilities of the Aether Scanning equipment This led to Nathaz excitedly explaining how he had learned of the name of RandidlyÆs Fatepiece which included a depiction of the associated image

Randidly could tell from a single look at that individual that the next Fatepiece was coming from Shal And honestly he held quite a bit of anticipation toward a reunion with his original teacher What would Shal think of his growth

Hopefully my subconsciousÆs opinion on the subject is grossly off base Randidly thought ruefully

On his way back through the underground offices didnÆt run into Neshamah Rex again so he quickly returned to the surface He took another long glance upward at the massive Engraving Guild pyramid and pursed his lips Then he turned and walked slowly back toward the exit into the Web

The news about his next Fatepiece was interesting but not useful In fact Randidly would have ignored the news immediately if not for one detail After all Shal had vanished since he had ascended and allowed his planet to pass the Second Calamity No matter how many messages Randidly sent Shal didnÆt respond

But Nathaz Eloise had added that Shal and his Fatepiece were currently in the Fifth Cohort Which brought Randidly back to the issue the same difficulty he had been puzzling apart his entire walk over here His expression was thoughtful as he continued through the sandy streets as he considered his options

He had already sent a request to Lady Iellaya but she had replied while Randidly was speaking to Nathaz they were blocking her ability to allow Randidly to serve under her for this war against the Nether Military High Command didnÆt vocally say anything but some new regulations were aimed in that direction very obviously

If Randidly wanted to go to the Fifth Cohort and participate it was either as a volunteer or as an aide to Commandant Wick

Randidly straightened abruptly His Nether Core trembled One of his connections was rapidly weakening

And this connection was one of his strongest His heartbeat quickened and his palms began to sweat as adrenaline flooded through his body

He didnÆt hesitate at all Randidly Ghosthound produced his PhilosopherÆs Key and opened a portal directly to his destination His shoulders trembling with the potent chemical flight or flight reaction within a System empowered body Randidly stepped forward and soon found himself standing over the cooling body of Raymund Ballast

The Stillborn Phoenix devoured his emotions as soon as they flared to life in his chest His attention became razor sharp and glacially still

RandidlyÆs emerald eyes swept back and forth across the stone path the discarded esophagus and the drying blood Then he briefly peered up toward the mountain He could catch the hint of some obscured and mysterious significance upon the rocky summit that he had missed by only a few seconds But just as quickly the Ghosthound crouched down and pressed his hand to RaymundÆs shoulder Through the touch Randidly unleashed a gushy blast of Vitality

Yggdrasil rumbled The massive brown swelled to the size of a skyscraper The World TreeÆs roots rumbled through the ground seeming to want to crush the ground beneath it into power RandidlyÆs gaze on Raymund intensified Wave after wave of revitalizing energy was shoved into the fox manÆs body

And when his fading body didnÆt respond to that Randidly brought his other hand to RaymundÆs shoulder In his right had flowed Aether and in his left Nether These he plugged directly into the apparatus of energy that was Raymund Ballast in the eyes of the System

His Soulspace was collapsing but it hadnÆt disintegrated yet With burning eyes Randidly held up the walls of his recruitÆs soul And then Randidly waited because that was all he could do

In those long moments he swore to himself that if Raymund died he would chase the culprit to the end of the world And then he would annihilate that individual starting first with his body but also completely eroding his or her image

A split second after that slightly crazed oath the Foxman gasped and shivered

Slowly at first but then with more surety his flesh began to knit back together Raymund Ballast would not die this day

Snorting Randidly stood once again Wreathed in the ethereal flames of Weight he looked again up at the mountain above him for a long time Someone had activated a very powerful working of Nether there He could see the way that whoever had attacked Raymund had created a bridge deep into the folded space within the dominion of Nether above

And speaking of that space Randidly grimaced as he turned to gaze upward to the sudden developments in the sky But although he was furious at the distraction he was somehow comforted now he had a concrete object towards which he could direct his significant ire A rumbling wave of Nether swept out of some distant abyss and spread out to cover the space between the dark moon and this planet but it also expanded to fill the surrounding solar system

Randidly narrowed his eyes as he traced the way the Nether rapidly spun together in discrete threads and wove a great working in the sky This heh shit So this is what a true Nether King can accomplish

The pieces of Nether moved independently from each other They resembled the wild and newly spawned tadpoles in a shallow pond They were flakes of dark snow spiraling toward the ground Even after looking for ten seconds at the furious spree of activity he could barely grasp the underlying principles on which the flood of Nether behaved

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 394

And then the Nether above the planet changed

Although a significant portion of his attention was on Yggdrasil pumping life through the coughing and hiccuping Raymund Ballast Randidly also considered the sky with solemn attention Admiration rose in his heart as he saw the deft way that disparate and chaotic strands of Nether very quickly became recognizable and meaningful patterns The chaotic tadpoles crystalized into a perfectly warped kaleidoscope A few seconds later these patterns clicked together in a way that seemed perfectly natural and all of the space in the area of these two celestial bodies became bonded

Now thatÆs a fucking Nether Ritual Randidly thought with a little bit of fear as his anger ebbed at the awe inspiring display Another pulse of Nether ran through the sky and that enormously scaled Nether Ritual began to tighten and squeeze the bonded space

But before the Nether Ritual managed to fold the moon even closer to the Aether Headquarters a familiar feeling image exploded out of the Military Base This image possessed none of the finesse and beauty of the Nether Ritual above but the image of stratification and tight control was just as overwhelming That singular Willpower exploded upward and smashed forcefully into the Nether Ritual The sky creaked and groaned a distant thunderstorm on the scale of planets Randidly could feel the vibrations of the conflict against his skin standing on the surface of the planet

Commandant Wick saw the activating Nether Ritual and decisively said no The Nether King and the Commandant clashed visibly the two powers grinding away at each other The CommandantÆs image was a singular force moving to meet a complicated machine yet that image was powerful enough on its own to completely make all the arrangement and Control of the Nether King irrelevant

which is exactly why I donÆt quite want to quietly assume a post as an aide to the Commandant HeÆs better as an ally than an enemy but Randidly barred his teeth at the sky Both titanic figures upped their effort causing dimensional cracks to flare to life and disappear in split seconds Thick cords of black lightning ripped outward from those cracks disappearing just as quickly as they came Yet they left the air sizzling and buzzing when Randidly sniffed he smelled the distinct tang of ozone

Then his eyes flicked sideways Huge orbs of darkness were breaking off of the moon that hung so low over the planet and shooting downward Almost thirty rolled lazily down from the moon to smash into the planet below While the two leaders held each other at bay it was time for the troops to engage And coincidentally one of the giant hunks of darkness was coming down to near Randidly

Well shit Randidly swore Then he crouched next to Raymund Ballast and helped him sit up The Vulpine was licking his lips but his eyes were still glassy Randidly grimaced Are you alright Can you walk

I apologies I The Foxman trailed off clearly still deeply disturbed by his brush with death Randidly sighed and didnÆt pressure him Instead he glanced again up at the sky The Nether Invasion was coming Which meant that there wasnÆt much time to arrange for Randidly to be part of Military High CommandÆs response He could just assist in the fight but then he wouldnÆt receive any credit as a volunteerÆ And he supposed he could just enlist directly but Randidly had the feeling that then he would end up with Commandant Wick anyway

Randidly paused as a thought occurred to him He looked down at the dazed Raymund Ballast Then he grinned

Recruit Ballast letÆs not mince words You arenÆt fit for action right now and we are running out of time Hand over your identification card and IÆll take care of your muster call for the time being In the meantime I suggest you return to my Soulskill where you can recover for a bit When things have calmed down we will discuss what happened to you Randidly said seriously

Raymund blinked and raised his gaze at the sky Through the haze of his own thoughts the rapidly approaching invasion of Nether seemed to finally hit him For a second his jaw tightened like he was going to pull himself together but then that bleak blankness returned to his gaze With a sigh he nodded and passed Randidly his identification card

After quickly opening a portal to his Alpha Cosmos and letting Raymund through Randidly nodded and brushed himself off He allowed one last look toward the descending Nether forces and then produced a long brown cloak from his inventory Not that the recruitment coordinator would likely care about RandidlyÆs impersonation but the longer it took for Commandant Wick to find out about it the better

Through his connections with some of the other recruits Randidly could feel them nearby Clicking his tongue he produced his PhilosopherÆs Key and opened a portal to nearby to the Military Headquarters but not inside it

The place was a kicked anthill as Randidly traveled the rest of the distance on foot with soldiers running every which direction in a chaotic mass of bodies Randidly was jostled several times as he moved forward quickly eroding his patience to the point that the lingering fury he felt from RaymundÆs mortal injury came back to the surface

Next time when someone made to barrel into Randidly his hands flicked out and tossed the offending grunt away

As Randidly suspected the muster station for the new recruits wasnÆt difficult to pass through All Randidly had to do was state why he was there and the harried Sergeant paused in his frantic packing up of the station to make a hasty note on a clipboard Then the Sergeant gestured vaguely to the South YouÆll see your people that way

RUmmbbllee

The sky shook as the clashed between Commandant Wick and the Nether King intensified The Nether King had created some new arrangements of its Nether and applied more pressure but the Commandant didnÆt budge an inch The Sergeant visibly flinched from the explosive reaction and Randidly smiled and turned away

Still wrapped in his long cloak Randidly followed his instincts even if the soldier had been general he could feel the presence of his recruits through the Nether that they had shared Those bonds might only have been built for three months but they were the Nether flows he had made at RandidlyÆs current height of Nether sophistication

The group was standing nervously together still dressed in the same dark green uniforms of the elite squad The material was dusty and worn from the constant physical training that the Overseers had demanded DiOrtho was the first to notice Randidly as he strode confidently forward

The ram demonÆs eyes widening in recognition as he approached the group Head

Everyone Randidly rumbled with a voice that was aided by his Nether Weight Instantly he became the center of attention and smiled around at his recruits I would appreciate it if you would pretend like I am Raymund Ballast for the next several hours There isnÆt time to explain but everyone should be careful during the fight the Nether isnÆt our only foe

Looks of pained understanding came across many faces but Randidly ignored those expressions and looked at the scroll in VantÆs hands WeÆve got orders already

Ah yes sir The ram demon scratched his cheek and passed over the scroll Randidly scanned through it the elite squad was supposed to move to clear one of the impact points for the giant Nether Spheres

Randidly barred his teeth If he hadnÆt have come taking on an impact zone alone would have been a dangerous prospect for the elite squad He could sense there were at least a hundred Nether Gatekeepers within each sphere with more hidden in their depths But since he was here to help

One last lesson Randidly said gravely looking around at his recruits LetÆs take the first step together Try to keep up IÆm not going to hold back

Chapter 1601

Randidly could feel how nervous the recruits were as they followed behind them but they moved quickly for all their confusion about his presence Heiffal and Helen had done their work well But still they didnÆt have any time to spare As they descended from the plateau on which the Military Headquarters sat to the plains between themselves and their target the ground beneath their feet shuddered several times

The Nether Invasions was crashing to the ground with enough force that no one could ignore its arrival Randidly noticed other similar groups heading in different directions as they began to head toward their destination Quite a few similar groups spread out from the base to accomplish similar missions

LetÆs make sure that this groupÆs result catches the eye of the lazy Commandants

When they hit the tall grass of the plains Randidly glanced around at the people around him This pace wasnÆt enough How much faster can we go

DiOrtho scowled and the other Squad Leaders looked at each other awkwardly Even Vizzeret Clamman who had always been rather cowed in the wake of their challenge looked at Randidly with sharp eyes The flames of determination were bright in his pupils

We can keep up DiOrtho affirmed

Randidly chuckled to himself and shook his head Well it was typical for the inexperienced to bite off more than they could chew but Randidly wasnÆt going to call them out on it directly Instead he would do his best to help them protect their pride For the first time in a long time he activated his Ruinous Drive Skill A pulsing heart of energy formed within RandidlyÆs body

When that heart was fully formed and luminous Randidly began to rush forward practically gliding through the tall grass The recruits moved to follow him in fits and starts Every second that energy would pulse and spread an aura into the surroundings that clung to his subordinates Their eyes brightened and they suddenly moved with increased explosiveness and vigor In the past he had used it to solely increase damage but the current Randidly had drastically improved from that time in his life

Congratulations Your Skill Ruinous Drive has grown to Level 115

Congratulations Your Skill Ruinous Drive has grown to Level 116

So you even had a Skill like this Charlotte Wick whispered to herself All of the recruits soon grew used to the pace and followed behind him in a tight group

Randidly chuckled and accelerated a little further You donÆt know the half of it

As they ran Randidly began to tinker with the associated image of the Skill When he was satisfied with that he moved on to the way the energy was dispersed In the past it was enough to simply have an empowering aura But his five years in the shaft had been a crash course in organic and meaningful energy flows So very quickly he swirled the energy of Ruinous Drive around his person in a whirl

The flows split from each other and reunited in different combinations as they spun out from his body In this manner each recruit was continuously exposed to slightly different variations of the same energy He could feel more and more accumulation in the bodies of his subordinates

Congratulations Your Skill Ruinous Drive has grown to Level 117

RuummBllee

Congratulations Your Skill Ruinous Drive has grown to Level 139

While the group surged forward to the agreed upon location to deal with the descending Nether Sphere the conflict in the sky remained deadlocked The dark moon loomed over their heads with determined ill will Commandant Wick remained pinned down by the confrontation mobilizing his significant image in order to hold the Nether King at bay

Meanwhile Randidly was exchanging messages with Lady Iellaya who was managing the larger response in the large continent to the South of Military Headquarters She fed him information regarding the broader situation

The attacks were apparently not solely coming at this planet all of AetherÆs bases in the Fifth Cohort were being attacked at once And these Nether SphereÆs were aimed to establish a foothold on the planets so the Nether King or his Heralds could expand their Nether Rituals down the surface The more of these spheres that the various forces couldnÆt eliminate the more difficult it would be to prevent the space from being folded by the Nether Ritual

Congratulations Your Skill Ruinous Drive has grown to Level 140

Yet what Lady Iellaya mostly shared was that while the foot soldiers were panicking the influential military personnel werenÆt taking the attack seriously There were also several strange irregularÆ units that were wandering around the command building treating the situation like a fun hunting game

Randidly pressed his lips together as he thought of the individuals that reigned supreme in the Nexus His anger flared back to life Just how many fucking lives will be lost to this game How big would that number need to be to get you to notice Shit

To distract himself from his fury Randidly began to move the energy flows of Ruinous Drive in seemingly meaningless patterns Instead of separating them into split flows he segmented the energy into minuscule pieces and attempted to bring them together Over and over again that wild and oddly captivating chaos of the Nether KingÆs Ritual replayed in his mind A flat plane with discrete bits of energy swimming as randomly as tadpoles moving on nascent instinct They formed and died with all the performance of sparks

Pieces to flows flows to pieces pieces to nothing nothing to flaring pieces

Yet even if the individual pieces faded as quickly as they joined and separated out from an energy flow they contributed to a broader flow that was somehow maintained despite the minuscule longevity of the pieces The whole was permanent even if all the factors that created that meaningful whole were transient

Congratulations Your Skill Ruinous Drive has grown to Level 141

For the first time since Randidly had chosen his Path through the System he had a slight headache for a very specific reason he didnÆt possess enough Control to accomplish what he was attempting

Yet he gritted his teeth and continued to attempt it as he ran forward

Congratulations Your Skill Ruinous Drive has grown to Level 163

The ground beneath their feet shook and quaked from an enormous impact but Randidly and his recruits simply hopped up in the air and let their significant momentum carry them forward They were arching blurs through the air For a few seconds they were truly flying across the plains By the time they drifted back toward the ground the reverberations had stopped

In the distance a column of dust drifted up into the air and fuzzed the edges of their target The impact site was right in front of them their timing was rather good Randidly grinned Alright recruits LetÆs welcome them enthusiastically shall we

The recruits nodded As they neared the giant mound of Nether and the dust cloud drifted away Nether Beast after Nether Beast ripped their way out of the Sphere and dropped to the ground Due to the fact that the Sphere was about the size of a city block and every few square meters of surface area produced a Nether Beast every few seconds by the time group arrived there was a sea of Nether Beasts waiting for them

Hunchbacked bears with odd numbered arms flightless birds made of bone and talon giant insects with twitching antennas undead creatures with their flesh rotting away from their sagging bulk giant metal constructs with glowing eyes these Nether Beasts followed the principles of the Nether Beasts that Randidly had seen in the shaft this was a true army of an uncontrolled Nether King

In terms of power these Nether Beasts seemed to be half again as powerful as those Randidly had encountered on the frontlines

As soon as the recruits arrived the Nether Beasts turned their gazes toward the newly arrived foes With a roar they surged forward to destroy these impudent beings of Aether Kallum Xeruth looked at the surging army in front of them with bright eyes Looks like we are going to start with pest control huh

No need Randidly said coolly Nether and Aether moved perfectly in tandem with his body Perhaps it was because he had just encountered a limit to his Control for the first time in a long time but he suddenly felt the need to make a statement The air around Randidly was filled with the distinct sound of rustling leaves He clenched his hands into fists If IÆm here quantity means nothing

The ground erupted beneath the Nether Beasts Thorny roots ripped through the assembled Nether Beasts like scythes through wheat Limbs were severed and lives were taken If the Nether Beasts were a several page long math test RandidlyÆs Skill was an industrial strength paper shredder In only a few seconds he had completely decimated the accumulated army of Nether

Congratulations Your Skill Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 355

Congratulations You have reached Level 63 +8 Stats distributed between Vitality Perception Resist Intelligence and Control +37 Free Stats +1 Stat to a Mental Stat +1 to a Physical Defense Stat +1 to a Mental Support Stat +2 Control +46 Health +55 Mana +50 Stamina +6 5 to all Regenerations +1 to Health and Stamina Regeneration

Due to your Fatepiece the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night +1 Grim Intuition +1 Reaction +1 Focus and +3 Control per Level

Due to your Fatepiece the Visage of Obsession +10 Focus and 1 Control Per Level

Randidly clicked his tongue Forgot how much experience these fools give me well there are other ways to force the powerful forces out of the Nether Sphere

Randidly produced his Philosopher’s Key and opened a portal to his Alpha Cosmos His recruits looked at Randidly with a strange expression but he just waited as the Nether Beasts had a brief reprieve to regrow their numbers Then a strangely leafy figure riding a chitinous black rhino and carrying a long lance cantered out of the portal The Rider of the Baleful Court glanced around bowed slightly to Randidly then moved out of the way for the rest of his people to follow

Randidly had intended to lend his Riders to Vualla but he had forgotten in the chaos of heading into the shaft But they would now serve as an effective measure to deplete Nether numbers without gaining him too much experience The Rhino Riders came first their steeds thick and powerful with a curving horn on their heads The recruits watched with widening eyes as hundreds streamed forth And after them the spider mount riders came out with their agile movements and flowing silk cloaks Next came the controlled cadence of the camel riders

At about two thousand Riders the third type tapered off RandidlyÆs Ruinous Drive spiraled outward to cover them all But next came the miscellaneous Riders that had evolved in different directions Riders that road giant toads a Rider on the back of a Preying Mantic a Rider on the back of a massive eagle

DiOrtho coughed into his hand These are reinforcements

Yes Randidly smiled sharply and threw his Willpower behind Ruinous Drive Now go Clear me a path

Chapter 1602

Neshamah Rex tapped her finger against the wooden table with as much consistency as a metronome Although she knew logically she should feel so anxious she couldnÆt manage to scratch some inner itch that continued to nag at her The confident expression of Randidly Ghosthound appeared in her mind Perhaps in two weeks IÆll prove you wrong once again

If you want to join the hunt donÆt stop on my account Gabriel Swacc said lazily Both were sitting in a small tent within the Aether Headquarters on the Fifth Cohort Due to the other powerful figures congregated together in this area even the struggle that wrecked the sky above them didnÆt disturb their leisure within the tent Honestly I feel like Commandant WickÆs hardheadedness is a shame The first truly wild Nether King in ages and he insists on holding him at bay while we hunt Barely even a challenge

No it isnÆt that Neshamah Rex said slowly Her tapping stopped She raised her gaze to the well woven canvas roof of the tent With a thought she detached a single particle of her Nether and flicked it up toward the roof It passed cleanly through and flowed rapidly upward into the chaotic sky She honestly had no idea why she was so tense as far as she could tell there was no reason to be

Well I suppose even if this ends up being an anticlimactic situation you wouldnÆt mind Gabriel Swacc said with naked envy in his voice The scaled humanoid leaned back in his chair his dull red coloration catching the dim light from the torches The reward for the Nether KingÆs Capture is an unlimited ticket to Alymian the Pinnacle of Dreams but such an item must seem petty to the daughter of Solomon Rex

Neshamah pressed her lips together and ignored Gabriel Her relationship with Gabriel was necessarily close due to their two familyÆs combined image purification efforts but there was no need to humor his tantrums Instead NeshamahÆs attention remained with the small bit of Nether that she sent upward With her Weight she just barely managed to keep that bit of Nether from being assimilated or obliterated and used that small piece to sense the situation above them

Due to her high Synechdochence the Nether Core Attribute that was unlocked at the Legendary Rarity a single mite of her Nether possessed an impressive percentage of the influence that the whole of her Nether Core could mobilize So with that single bit of Nether she observed the confrontation in the sky with the exacting insight that only someone who possessed Nether could rival

Her expression soon became solemn What she observed made her glad her instincts had guided her in this way the wide spread claim that the Commandant Wick was merely engaging the Nether King to make his eventual capture that much easierÆ was obviously a farce

From what Neshamah could see the prideful Commandant was barely holding his own This Nether King was strong

So if we are making a mistake here who has tricked us Neshamah reasoned to herself as considered the possibilities Who is fleecing who in this situation

Gabriel Neshamah began slowly It wasnÆt a good clue but it might lead to something meaningful Have you heard about any shift in the Nether Core Lattice that the Engraving Guild possesses

Huh Those old farts Bah Gabriel Swacc spat to the side despite the fact that he held just as important a position within the Engraving Guild as the Nether Experimenters did I doubt it All they can do is whine about obtaining more experiment specimens If they have managed to change at all in the last ten years IÆll eat an entire Nether Beast

Hmm So it wasnÆt the Engraving Guild then NeshamahÆs tapping resumed But from the depths of herself she sensed a hint of anticipation Well who knows Sometimes rarely life can surprise you

In the time since Randidly had last seen them his Riders of the Baleful Court had not been sitting idle His Alpha Cosmos was populated with enough strange and violent creatures for them to sharpen their blades to a deadly point in the interim

When he had unleashed them on the frontlines the only reasons they had been able to hold their own against the Nether Beasts were their numbers and the aura that Randidly released to assist them Now the individual strength of the Riders had risen to even a bit above these improved Nether Beasts

Needless to say the addition of their tactics made it a bit of a stretch to call this a battle The Riders moved with the Elite Squads cutting through the desperate Nether Beasts with less speed than RandidlyÆs Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil but still with visible ease

Congratulations Your Skill Riders of the Baleful Court has grown to Level 317

Congratulations Your Skill Ruinous Drive has grown to Level 183

Randidly folded his arms and watched Led by the unstoppable stomping charge of the Rhino mounts a large wedge was pushed directly forward like a bare blade toward the giant mound of Nether While his subordinates acquainted themselves with their butchery Randidly did two things One was studying the Nether flows of these enemies including the construction of the grand Nether Sphere He dearly wanted to shear the entire thing in half and study how the transport worked

Secondly he continued to try and replicate the granular manipulation of Nether that he had seen in the Nether KingÆs Ritual by way of Ruinous Drive He slowly could account for his insufficient Control with experience but his improvement was only taking baby steps

But even so it was earning him quite a few Skill Levels in the process

RandidlyÆs eyes instantly sharpened as a loud cry rose from the half buried Nether Sphere As he had expected when the forces of Aether came too close the top portion of the sphere began to bubble and seethe Several larger more ominous figures clambered out of the strange porous surface Nether Gatekeepers

Nether Sensation sprang into overdrive as Randidly watched the Nether Gatekeepers descend off the sphere with all the righteous indignation of gods DiOrtho Charlotte Vizzeret Kallum Jieu and the leaders of the Rider groups moved forward to meet the Nether Gatekeepers Randidly kept his Ruinous Drive active but he pulled back some of the Nether support he gave his recruits they should learn to stand before the oppression of a true Nether Gatekeeper without being in his shadow

And for the most part they performed splendidly DiOrtho especially due to his five year advantage possessed a dominant image that pinned five Nether Gatekeepers down

As with the Nether Beasts these Nether Gatekeepers were more powerful than the variety that Randidly had fought on the frontlines But still it only took a few seconds of studying for Randidly to realize something These Nether Gatekeepers are more powerful sure but most of that is a result of superior potential Because these free Nether Gatekeeper possess superior Nether Cores to those raised by the Nexus

But most of that superiority is just potential from what I can sense on the cores that potential probably mirrors perfectly the Nether Gatekeepers I encountered in the shaft But the Engravings on these Nether Core havenÆt had time to deepen these Nether Gatekeepers arenÆt ripe yet So why is the Nether King going on such a furious offensive if his army will only grow more powerful as time passes

For now Randidly didnÆt have any theories on the Nether KingÆs motivations But he tucked that knowledge away for later In the meantime he cracked his knuckles and produced Sulfur and Acri Both quickly moved into their position with Sulfur covering his upper torso and a large portion of his left arm Acri raised its spearhead and chirped

Randidly nodded with relish Yup ItÆs about time to go wild

As if on cue DiOrthoÆs Machine Horror screeched and lashed upward Two Nether Gatekeepers were forced backward and the ram demon accelerated to thrust a blade and directly impact a third GatekeeperÆs core

That Nether Gatekeeper wasnÆt killed outright but it was deeply wounded Into that space stepped the howling Vizzeret Clamman In his streamlined form he pounced forward and tore off a leg from one of the other Nether Gatekeepers Even Randidly couldnÆt help but be impressed by the display of physical power

But the Nether Sphere had seen enough

A resounding clap spread outward from the top of the Nether Sphere as it shifted and opened A hunched figure straightened from the shadowy opening seeming to claw its way up from the depths of hell to stand before them Even Randidly felt a sudden pressure descending on the surrounding space this wasnÆt just a Nether Gatekeeper but a true Nether Herald

RandidlyÆs hands tingled with anticipation

The Nether Herald possessed a head of a goat while possessing the body of a humanoid In its left hand was a two meter pole that had sharp blades on both ends In its right hand was a length of chain with a dangling metal hook on the end Its eyes were wide and blank and as bright as reflective tape But when Randidly looked at its Nether Core his gaze was screened by Nether so dense that even he couldnÆt rival it

The chaotic clash between the Nether Gatekeepers and their foes stalled as everyone felt the new equilibrium as the Nether Herald moved forward ItÆs enormous eyes slid back and forth

RandidlyÆs heart was pounding This this is exactly the opposite of the Nether Gatekeepers This thing is incredibly ancient And if I hadnÆt been here it would have torn my elite squad to shreds even with RaymundÆs help

One more sin laid at the feet of the Nexus

Randidly unleashed a wicked smile and stepped forward The immense Weight of his Nether Core spread out to pressed directly against the Weight of the Nether Herald And although it was immediately clear that the Nether Herald possessed a superior Nether Core itÆs Weight could only give way before RandidlyÆs

The Nether Herald raised its head and howled Randidly spun Acri expertly in his hands and then lowered into his fighting stance His three images swirled together for a hug like three distant brothers at a family reunion Man is Proud But the Chimera Takes Yyrwood Flesh of Yggdrasil Cosmic Necessity

The ground beneath Randidly cracked as he shot forward All three of his images sang to life containing a surplus of both concrete shape and vivid emotions as they activated His image physicalizations warped his body in a split second His heart was pounding His blood was hot and he streaked through the air with a trail of steam in his wake

The Nether Herald unleashed a suppressing pulse of Nether but RandidlyÆs images had been built a spine of Nether he cut through the suppression without even pausing Acri blade caught the light as it slid toward its target The Nether Gatekeeper realized at the last second what was happening and swiped its bladed pole across to deflect the blow

Claangg

Both weapons were knocked backward Randidly was surprised at the Nether HeraldÆs Strength but he didnÆt dwell on it That ominous he felt when he gazed at the complex Nether Core and dense aura was the real deal He planted his foot and pivoted bringing his leg around at a reverse heel kick toward the Nether HeraldÆs temple

The Nether Herald saw it and whipped the hook up to rip through RandidlyÆs calf but Randidly folded his leg inward at the last second while letting his body follow through with the motion The hook passed harmlessly through the air and Randidly continued to spin When his knee rotated outward past the Nether HeraldÆs body his leg flashed outward and he struck the Nether Herald in the chin with his toe

The Nether Herald stumbled backward but didnÆt seem any the worse for wear Its well developed Nether Core throbbed with rising power Randidly could bully his way through most of the dense Nether in front of him by relying on his superior Weight but the Nether HeraldÆs weapons began to radiate grey light that gave him pause

Like the bubbles Randidly thought with a slight tightening of his eyes If this Nether Herald could wield that same incredible mass it was time to stop saving his strength

He planted both his feet and hopped backward Again all three images moved within him in concert And this time they burned with all the pent up fury that Randidly had experienced over the past several hours The emotions had risen to such a fever pitch that it was almost painful to host them There was a strange cognitive blurring to the air as Randidly unleashed his emotional limiters and allowed the energies to run as they may The saturation in the colors his eyes observed sky rocketed Everything was raw and vulnerable and cutting and bloody

He released a slow breath as the Nether Herald began to spin his chain hook Randidly reached forward and channeled all those howling emotions Or rather he opened himself and those forces gleefully erupted in the indicated direction Tide of the Void Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil Pernicious Fang of the Shade

The Stillborn Phoenix exhaled breathing those incendiary emotions through the deep roots of Yggdrasil Guided by those emotions the roots spiraled together squeezing themselves until their very substance was compacted and refined forming a powerful drill that began to rip upward through the ground And then the Grim Chimera seized those violent roots and added all of its venom and determination

By the time the ground beneath them cracked audibly it was too late

That root drill ripped upward through the ground piercing through the Nether Sphere and annihilating most of the interior in a blast of powerful images At the last moment the Nether Herald sensed the threat and took a half step backward but the goat man was still smashed and stunned The root attack flung flecks of gore through the air

Randidly frowned Damnit that wasnÆt enough

The curving roots ended in a gleaming point that left a deep gash from its hit to its collar bone But ultimately that would only slow the Nether Herald down for a brief period Randidly planted his foot and crossed the distance He placed both hands on the Nether HeraldÆs shoulder It twisted its arms to bring its empowered Nether weapons to bear on RandidlyÆs person but that second of opening was all Randidly needed

Revelations of the Atramentous Threshold Cursed Appetite of the Wraith The Implacable Price of Exodus

With eyes gleaming with blue black revelation energy Randidly seized a portion of that Nether HeraldÆs core as food and allowed the Grim Chimera to gleefully devour it What remained was that blasted with the energy of Exodus which shattered the weakened Nether Core

Randidly was trembling as the Nether Herald in front of him collapsed Despite his success his mind was slightly woozy Loosening the emotional limits makes the images more effective but damn I feel exhausted even after only using a few Skills

And he hadnÆt even been throwing his Weight behind his images He had simply allowed it to passively boost his abilities He still had more practicing to do before he could perfectly utilize his current abilities But he did stand and savor how far he had come

One of the foes that had brought the frontline to its knees had been defeated by Randidly in only a few seconds He wondered how close he was to rivaling Lady Iellaya’s power

Randidly turned to look at the ongoing battle below him and raised an eyebrow The recruits were still somewhat stunned by his sudden demonstration What You havenÆt finished yet Huh and here I thought you could keep up

Chapter 1603

Without the Nether Herald stabilizing the situation the backbone of this invasion force crumpled and collapsed like a rotting tree A huge wave of Nether Beasts surged out of the giant Nether Sphere after the Nether HeraldÆs death but even with such numbers the enemies were quickly herded together and slaughtered Under the leadership of DiOrtho Vant the dozen Nether Gatekeepers were weakened and defeated

Soon the ground in the surroundings was littered with broken Nether Cores

Randidly simply sat on top of the sphere and watched the fight settle There were a few minor injuries to the recruits but after an hour of fighting they stood at attention before him with crisp salutes Their first battle ended in a decisive victory

Randidly nodded slowly as he examined them all This was the most difficult step and they had taken it impressively Set up patrols for the surrounding area IÆll report our success and see if we have any further orders

His troops dispersed in groups with the Squad Leaders acting closely with the core Riders of the Baleful Court to coordinate their efforts After fighting against the Nether forces together the groups were getting along splendidly Randidly wondered if he should leave the troops with Raymund Ballast after the Foxman recovered and could take up the mantle of his own identity once more

It would certainly address the problem of the groupÆs low numbers

RandidlyÆs lips twitched Plus the interactions between the factions seemed to be accelerating the growth of his Influence Or at least he thought that must be the cause of the increased accumulation Truth be told he understood very little about Influence Rather than a measure like Weight which described his own observable power Randidly suspected that Influence described the power that he couldnÆt conscious exert but still possessed

At this point his Influence had climbed to 3101 He wasnÆt sure about the exact count but at this pace Randidly figured he could delay his growth to the next Nether Core Rarity to 10 000 Influence

Opening a dialogue with Neshamah will be useful if just to get a handle on the aspects of a Nether Core Randidly reflected But I donÆt want to appear too desperate especially when she seems to think IÆve thrown my lot in with the Engraving Guild But as long as I give her a nice surprise after this war heh I suspect she will be quite a bit more amenable

Humming to himself Randidly sat on top of the sundered Nether Orb and looked up at the sky The bands of black lightning were becoming thicker every minute as they streaked across the sky Intermittent rumbles created a constant thrum of background noise on the planetÆs surface The strained confrontation between the Nether King and Commandant Wick was becoming more and more apparent Their struggles became ambient weightÆ that suppressed Nether and Aether activity alike in the surrounding area

Even being beneath this fight would be enough to kill weak creatures If there were any natural wildlife on this planet Randidly suspected that they were now just corpses

Despite the obvious drawbacks Randidly took some mental notes about the general suppression to test for the next time he needed a training array But he took a quick break to write up a report that he sent through to Lady Iellaya directly who was the superior of the elite recruitsÆ superior Technically she was within their chain of command While he waited for a response Randidly studied the Nether Sphere that was used for the incursion

Very quickly he could only click his tongue and shake his head Damn itÆs more impressive than I realized that the root drill only inflicted a flesh wound on the Nether Herald The Nether Sphere was completely annihilated by its passage all the valuable weavings were torn to shreds in the attack

Without anything to see below him RandidlyÆs focus turned back upward While studying the conflict in the sky was somewhat interesting Randidly would need to manifest a significant portion of his image and Weight in order to push his Grim Intuition close enough to sense the true conflict And with no desire to draw the attention of the two figures locked in conflict Randidly suppressed his curiosity

In the meantime his attention turned to the state of his Nether Core Despite the fact that the actual Nether Core sat within Kharon Academy on the hidden Expira RandidlyÆs connection with the core meant that he was always acutely conscious of its state Since it was at the bottom of KharonÆs labyrinth Randidly would likely be able to see every individual who reached that prestigious depth

But that was all for the future the Academy would only be opening in a few more days At the moment Randidly began gently manipulating the Nether currents that ran along the surface of the established Nether Core

During his confrontation with the Nether Herald Randidly had used Cursed Appetite of a Wraith to bite off a chunk of his opponentÆs Nether Core Partially that functioned as a way to introduce a weakness in the Nether Herald but that chunk was also truly was absorbed by Randidly After steadily digesting its principles Randidly had a few small bits of inspiration that he believed he could incorporate

Obviously he couldnÆt just carve these new things into his Nether Core blindly adopting an untested energy flow would be reckless

But what Randidly could do was control the surface flows around his Nether core mimicking what he had been forced to do for so long within the shaft before he had the physical object to form his Nether Core RandidlyÆs eyelids slid down until he stood with half closed eyes He tweaked his Nether and then watched for several minutes to study the changes in the way the energy behaved Then he made a few more changes

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 399

Sometimes the changes were clearly much much worse than the current Nether Core Randidly possessed In fact most of the changes ruined some subtle balance that Randidly hadnÆt even noticed previously He hastily had to banish those flows and allow the destabilized Nether to return to normal before he could continue But occasionally Randidly stumbled across a change that led to a small increase in density Nether fluidity or a spiritual sense of peace

Randidly made careful note of those shifts and incorporated them into the surface flow He wouldnÆt change his Nether Core directly but the gradual flow of Nether along the surface would adjust his Nether Core It was growth on the scale of months but it was still a consistent improvement

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 400

Lady IellayaÆs message came back about an hour after Randidly started his Nether Core experiments As he read RandidlyÆs eyes narrowed he knew Lady Iellaya well enough to read her anxiety in her words

Thank god SOMEONE can do their fucking job Of the thirty six known Nether Pinions that descend to the planetÆs surface four teams including you have reported back successfully neutralizing the threat All have indicated that a powerful Nether Herald was present Ten units are still en route and nine have requested reinforcements after encountering heavy resistance Which means there are thirteen radio silent groups that are currently assumed to be dead

Officially your elite recruits are ordered to sit tight their ancestors are demanding they be protected considering the current chaos out here They say things will be easier soon likely because their jobs arenÆt on the line But IÆll send along four locations The first is one of the Nether Pinions with our forces still en route some assistance would be appreciated The other three are locations where we havenÆt had any reports For those scouting would be sufficient

Oh one more thing I need to create an official designation for your precious elite unit Have any preference

Randidly chewed his lip for a while looking at the chaotic and stormy sky Have it be Fenris

Lady Iellaya replied very quickly That designation is taken

Randidly rolled his eyes Fine How about Vulpis

The Vulpis SquadÆs first official mission is to sit tight Congratulations Lady Iellaya replied with obvious sourness

Randidly grinned Then I guess we will be making ourselves comfortable

After communicating briefly with Lady Iellaya Randidly issued some orders He sent a large portion of the Riders with Charlotte Wick to assist with the assault The rest of the members of the newly minted Vulpis Squad he sent under the command of DiOrtho Vant to scout the other three locations Randidly also gave them strict orders not to engage should they discover the other units had been annihilated

Considering the fact they had seen RandidlyÆs fight against the Nether Herald first hand they didnÆt argue The brevity of the clash didnÆt mean they had missed its fighting prowess

Then when basically all of his troops dutifully marched away Randidly looked up at the sky and grinned The air hummed with barely suppressed tension The situation in the Fifth Cohort was chaotic That chaos meant that those groups that were targeting Randidly were probably distracted but they would soon realize that the chaotic situation was also an opportunity

Something strange was happening in the Fifth Cohort But despite that Randidly didnÆt think his enemies would forget about him Now was the time for him to cash in on his Soulskill and receive his PP Tithe

Randidly opened his Path Menu First he glanced at his current PP 1997 Enough PP to earn his Tithe with plenty to spare Then Randidly looked down at his available Paths he had gained a few new ones since he had last looked Emotional Evolution I 0/500 Breath of the Imaginary Firebird 0/1000 The Throne of Nether Homage I 0/500 The Enigma of Serendipitous Chaos 0/2000

So many options to choose from RandidlyÆs eyes flicked through the entire list But for now I just need a Path to get me to the Tithe Once I know how much PP I am working with the decisions will be easier So if I need to spend 1750 PP

RandidlyÆs eyes went to the newest of the Paths the Enigma of Serendipitous Chaos with a luminous intensity For the usually pragmatic Randidly he was surprised to feel his pride rising to the surface He didnÆt have enough to finish it outright but he was only 3 PP short He didnÆt doubt that he would get at least that much with the Soulskill Tithe Based on his guesses that Path was related to his struggles to understand the grand Nether Ritual that the Nether King used

And Randidly hadnÆt forgotten that for the first time that he could remember his Control had suddenly been sufficient

So after a hesitation Randidly poured his PP into the Path Even 50 PP spent would earn him 1 Control and 1 Focus And most of the way through the Path Randidly received the notification that he was waiting for

The weave of your Soulskill has steadily become tighter and tighter The world that is your body is now one side of the coin of your existence The homeworld that hides your core hunches closely to the thin veil between them Steadily your influence is spreading The Systems they house are different but your Path was always one that would transcend a single System

Congratulations PP from your Alpha Cosmos flows into you Some has been absorbed by your local System but the vast majority of the tithe still belongs to you You have gained 89 102 PP

Randidly whistled in appreciation

Chapter 1604

Before Randidly thought very deeply about the other Paths that he should take Randidly finished the current Path by inserting 3 more PP

Congratulations You have finished the Enigma of Serendipitous Chaos Path As you proceed through the vast expanse of the Wilderness on a dark night your eyes travel to the complex matrix of stars that lay snugly across the sky For a brief moment as the movement of wind and air stills around you those dots of light seem to gleam with an unnatural and unexpected brightness The rays of distant light weave together as they radiate down to the surface of the planet

And in that split second you are struck by a flash of insight given to you by the singularness of this perspective Briefly from this spot on this world under these stars everything aligns You peer through a small crack in creation and briefly witness the majesty of the grand wheel on which existence turns

Your heartbeat accelerates You glimpse the bones of truth

Yet the wheel continues to turn In the next instant that small crack in the curtains of existence once more closes The insight is gone and you are left shaken and wondering

Please note to experience such chances is immensely unlikely Before the next related Path becomes available you will need to encounter such a chance within the Nexus purely by relying on your luck

Congratulations Grim Intuition Willpower Focus and Control +50 Your Skill Nether Ritual has evolved into Precise Nether Ritual Skill Levels will be maintained

Congratulations You have gained the Skill Environmental Insight Lvl 1

Synchronicity detected Recalculating

The Skills Analyze Refine Extract Experienced CreatorÆs Ingenuity and Engineering Savvy have been combined with Environmental Insight to form the Left Hand of the Nether Oracle Skill Level set at 200

Left Hand of the Nether Oracle While the Right Hand may cast the Stones of Discernment the Left Hand sets the holy table When utilizing Nether for various external reasons it is important to consider context The Feng Shui of the chosen location is just as important as the individual utilizing Nether Skill increases the userÆs understanding of the surrounding space Allows the individual to passively sense larger Nether flows Small chance to increase the effectiveness of a Nether Ritual when this information is taken into account Effects increase with Skill Level

Randidly released a light breath after looking through the explanation of the Skill that he had earned by completing this first Path After the shift occurred in his Soulspace and the new Skill coalesced he felt the strangest hint of a sense he hadnÆt possessed before In all likelihood Randidly wouldnÆt have noticed that sense at all if not for his time within the shaft stripped down to only his emotional and Nether senses

As it was Randidly looked up at the sky with luminous emerald eyes The space rippled and shook as the Nether King and Commandant Wick continued to struggle But after only a few seconds Randidly lowered his gaze he might have a bit more insight with this Skill but it was still far from enough to witness and understand this conflict

Congratulations Your Skill Left Hand of the Nether Oracle has grown to Level 201

No rush to figure out this Skill Randidly thought Then he grinned But it is a bit time sensitive to make use of this pile of PP So letÆs get down to it

Randidly glanced at the number that still induced giddy waves in his stomach 89 099 PP and then turned to look at the full list of Paths available to him With this amount of PP it wasnÆt like he had to be discerning But he did need to start somewhere

Friend to Humanity 0/100 Mantle of the Patron 0/500 Aether Convergence II the Bell of Doom Tolls 0/600 The Ashes of Ulaat Patron of Ash 0/1000 Order Ducis Font of Guidance HumanityÆs Torch 0/500 Puppet Master 0/100 Pain Immunity I 0/250 Cleaver of the World Tree Weakness of the World Tree 0/500 Guilty Conscience I 0/100 Peerage of the Baleful Court I 0/600 Hands of the Artisan 0/ Ashes of Illym the Above Average Child 0/5000 The Flame the Burns Memories 0/ Exodus the Terror 0/1000 Genesis the Considered 0/1000 Image Cooperation I 0/100 Body Refinement I 0/ ChimeraÆs Struggle II 0/ Spear Mastery III 0/200 Mysteries of the Fiery Emerald Waltz 0/ Violent Heat I 0/ Sovereign of Violence I 0/1000 Deathwish III 0/3 The Pursuit of Alchemy 0/750 Weakness of the Grim Chimera 0/500 Weakness of the Stillborn Phoenix 0/500 The Shadow Beyond the Threshold 0/ The ChimeraÆs Metamorphosis 0/2000 Greater Nether Core 0/ Primordial Might 0/ The Passion sans Shape I 0/ Conviction of the Celestial Cataclysm 0/1000 Architecture of Yggdrasil I 0/ The Trace of the Ideal 0/ Physique to Break the System 0/1500 Glimpse of the Shallah I 0/ Emotional Evolution I 0/500 Breath of the Imaginary Firebird 0/1000 The Throne of Nether Homage I 0/500

RandidlyÆs mouth twitched He could practically sweep all the small Paths up and devour all the Stat bonuses in the process And since this pile of PP was burning a hole in RandidlyÆs pocket he decided that a little of that sort of outlook couldnÆt hurt

Since his Riders were currently active and assisting with the neutralization of a Nether Pinion his first choice was Peerage of the Baleful Court I Every 50 PP Randidly put into the Path earned him 2 Reaction and 2 Wisdom Without any fanfare he quickly finished the path

Congratulations You have completed the Peerage of the Baleful Court I Path It is a natural consequence of your prestige that your journey through this vast Wilderness has seen followers accumulating at your back For one reason or another they learn to trail behind you mimicking your movements following your orders and establishing a natural hierarchy amongst themselves They clump together and soon ring you in a solemn vigil

Even upon the broken dirt of the Wilderness such a circle can become the seat of a Court provided you cultivate a suitable Spirit

But natural hierarchies flow like water As your organization has grown larger a more rigid structure might be necessary You have gained the ability to have four Rider Barons in service to you

Split Path As you create your newfound organization it is possible to either make the position of Baron to be Designated or Challenge Based Designated positions will be given by the user to the chosen Riders Challenge Based will rely on the Riders themselves to fight to determine who will hold on to the position Which will you choose

Challenge Based of course Randidly grinned at the notification Then he belatedly paused Hopefully their zeal to earn a Baronship wouldnÆt have them killing each other

For choosing Challenge Based the intelligence of your summons has slightly increased The growth potential of your summons had increased The creativity and independence of your summons has greatly increased For completing the Path Reaction +30

After the notifications ceased a new Peerage of the Baleful Court II had appeared for 1200 PP Seeing such a little change in his total PP Randidly went ahead and poured more PP into this Path Every 50 PP earned him 1 Grim Intuition and 1 Wisdom

Congratulations To accommodate your entourage the Path you follow has necessarily widened No longer is a simple circle in the dirt sufficient to host such noble personages The organization behind you has become truly grand In terms of size and scope it is comparable to a small city With such influence it is impossible for four Barons to manage all of the day to day operations of your operation Thus your Peerage must expand

Split Path Once more a familiar fork sits in front of you Should you add additional fixed positions to your Peerage or continue to allow your organization to grow and change freely like its own living organism Please note the effects of choosing freedom are somewhat unpredictable depending entirely upon the nascent Spirit you have grown

I choose freedom This time there truly was no hesitation in RandidlyÆs answer To Randidly freedom for Expira and for other unsuspecting planets from the Nexus was exactly why he had resolved himself to gather power But as he spoke a more pragmatic part of him had a much less righteous thought After all making a rigid structure means more work for me

For giving your Riders freedom their growth potential has again increased They have obtained a condensed five Stats Constitution Dexterity Intellect Spirit and Luck Growth Rates for their Stats vary between individuals

You have created 100 FangsÆ that will be distributed amongst your Riders A Rider can accumulate Fangs by challenging and defeating another Rider with Fangs As a Rider gathers additional Fangs they will wield more of your prestige and influence within the community Please note that something special may occur if all 100 Fangs are gathered by one individual

Congratulations For completing the Path Grim Intuition and Wisdom +50

As Randidly had expected Peerage of the Baleful Court III now waited for him in his Path screen for 2000 PP In addition it had an additional moniker following it Peerage of the Baleful Court III (Spirit) Humming to himself Randidly poured out a little bit more from his seemingly infinite pot of PP As he did so he was somewhat annoyed to earn nothing during the input of PP But it just made him look forward to the rewards that much more

Congratulations What was once a bare and lonely court has now come alive Trophies and items of power lay scattered through your retinue But the further you advance the more pressure sits upon your shoulders Your Riders move around you with a plethora of intentions yours is a court that does not place heavy restrictions upon its members Which means that the helm is that much more difficult to manage They sit below you their Leader but otherwise all that matters is their own capabilities

Your actions have been witnessed and integrated by your Riders while they have served you As the liege your choices inevitably have drawn their attention But even more than your individual decisions it is the broader construction of the Baleful Court itself that has been impressed upon the hearts of your Riders

Congratulations Your Baleful Court has developed the Spirit Endeavor of Valor

Freedom independence and respect form the core of your Court Due to this there is an increased chance that the Riders might someday decide not to follow you However you have proceeded forward without worrying about such a future In the now you have always attempted to show them how violence can be used to build and challenge the unknown

Congratulations Your Riders have been separated into tiers After accumulating a sufficient amount of experience they shall increase their Tier During the transformation process the physical form of the Rider will sometimes change This chance increases with the number of Fangs they have gathered Fangs have been separated into Tiers

Currently you possessed 1201 Tier I Riders 926 Tier II Riders and 6 Tier III Riders For completing the Path and earning the Spirit Endeavor of Valor Free Stats +50

Your Skill Ruinous Drive has evolved into the March of Ruin and Valor Skill Level will be maintained

The March of Ruin and Valor The Skill of a Commander that leads by example While the weapons of ruin can be turned on your foes the body of your subordinates can also be harmed by such implements Which is why the mantle of valor is so important Slightly increase the attack movement speed and defense of all subordinates A small portion of the damage dealt by subordinates cannot be prevented A small portion of damage received is unilaterally blocked Effects slightly increase with Skill Level

Congratulations Your Skill Riders of the Baleful Court has evolved into Lancers of the Baleful Crusade Skill Level will be maintained

A good start Randidly said aloud with sparkling eyes And seeing that he still had 85k PP to spend he was quite pleased with the current state of affairs

Chapter 1605

Randidly smiled slightly as he examed the Path completion notification for Peerage of the Baleful Court III His eyes flashed as he briefly calculated how much the Skills March of Ruin and Valor and the Lancers of the Baleful Crusade would increase his capabilities Then Randidly rolled his shoulders and looked at his Status

Improving the power of his supporters would definitely aid him in the long run but it was simply a nice side effect of his current Stat boost Plus it might take some time before the value of the new Lancers would reveal itself RandidlyÆs main goal with this PP was to capture the Stat growth as he trusted his own instincts on images and emotions much more than the Systems And while it was true Stats were probably the least reliable of the growth avenues available to Randidly the volume was such that the magnitude of the change couldnÆt be underestimated

Plus with those extra free Stats that I earned from finishing Riders of the Baleful Court III I can push my Wisdom to over 1000 Randidly switched to his Status screen and did so A tremor ran through his body Immediately he closed his eyes and released a breath

Whenever a Stat reached 1000 a qualitative change was triggered within that Stat Or perhaps more accurately the multitude of uses for the Stat would have each reached the requisite potency to achieve individual recognition Randidly would understand all the different methods and varieties of that Stat that he could use

Wisdom was much less flashy than the damage boosting Intelligence or the all important Control that Randidly pursued which was why it was the second to last of his Stats to reach 1000 But as soon as he reached 1000 Wisdom Randidly felt something settle within his person It was like a switch had been flipped that had turned down the volume on his inner static

Randidly opened his eyes and glanced around at the sundered Nether Pinion and the crumpled bodies in the surroundings Then he carefully examined his own state

The most obvious effect that Randidly could find was related to Grim Intuition His perception drop off had improved immensely Generally Randidly had a very good idea of the state of his environment that gradually decreased in specificity as the distance increased from his body until everything dissolved into fuzzy impressions toward the edge But with the change in his Wisdom that fuzziness was decreased His absolute perception range hadnÆt increased but somehow it was easier for him to parse apart sensory inputs that were further away

Yet once Randidly had this impression of a previously ignored static disappearing his understanding of this change spread to cover all of his abilities His body seemed suddenly easier to comprehend holistically His impressions of his various images grew more refined Several murky ideas for training became clear

The effect wasnÆt flashy But at the margins RandidlyÆs insight had greatly increased

Its a good feeling Randidly grinned down at his hands Then he glanced again at his Status screen With this the only Stat I need to boost up to 1000 is Focus and that will only require 85 more points Hum which of these Paths seems like they will improve my Focus

Randidly stared at the list for several seconds Then he shook his head helplessly He honestly wasnÆt sure which ones would provide a boost to Focus Sometimes the Path rewards were rather misleading But as he couldnÆt be precise with his growth he could just brute force the issue by finishing quite a few Paths

RandidlyÆs eyes gleamed like a wolf in a dark forest as he selected his next target Then he licked his lips and smiled His PP barely decreased as Randidly finished the long fallow Spear Mastery III Path for 200 PP Every 10 PP earned him 1 Nether Brawn

Congratulations You have finished the Spear Mastery III Path Your Path through the Wilderness has been long and dangerous and no tool has proved more useful to you than your spear As you seek the Pinnacle it is important to hone such proficiencies as much as possible The higher your elevation the more dangerous the foes will be as they impede your Path

Congratulations Your Skill Spear Mastery has evolved into Advanced Spear Mastery Effectiveness of each Skill Level has increased Skill Levels will be maintained +30 Nether Brawn and Agility

No Focus or Free Stat points And honestly the rewards are pretty meager but itÆs only a 200 PP Path RandidlyÆs eyes flashed Plus

Spear Mastery IV had appeared after he finished the prerequisite as he had expected it would It cost 750 which was a rather steep increase from 200 but it was still well within RandidlyÆs budget Pouring PP into this more advanced Path earned him 1 Reaction Agility and Grim Intuition every 50

Congratulations You have finished the Spear Mastery IV Path As you have continued forward you have fought and killed countless enemies Your spear steadily becomes stained with blood from continued and skillful use Still there are some costs associated with your capabilities When you look at your hands you cannot see the fingers you once possessed they have become lined with calluses

The weapon you have treated as a means to an end has inevitably influenced you Perhaps to the spear you wield you are just as surely a tool as it is

Congratulations Your Skill Advanced Spear Mastery has evolved into Fabled Spear Mastery Effectiveness of each Skill Level has greatly increased In addition Skill will slightly increase the effectiveness of the userÆs Agility and Reaction Stats Skill Levels will be maintained +10 to all Physical Stats

This Path completion rewards made Randidly smile but he wasnÆt done yet The issue of Focus could wait for a bit he planned to follow this series of Paths to its completion Which was why he happily opened up his Path menu and dumped PP into the Spear Mastery V Path which cost 2500 PP to finish He soon received a pleasant surprise Every 50 PP he spent earned Randidly 2 Free Stats

Halfway there Randidly thought with a half smile

Congratulations You have finished the Spear Mastery V Path You stand upon a high ridge with frost covered mountains surrounding you Snow drifts through the air dancing down around you When you breathe your exhale fogs the air This summit is a place of immense peace that few have been able to witness

The Path you have walked to reach this point is stained in blood Bodies are strewn along the side of the Path and as a consequence the snow is irreparably marred by your passage Standing now you can see an almost infinite number of Paths down from this summit where the misty valleys wait below The mountains are arranged like the jaws of a massive beast Proceeding forward will be difficult the passes between them are as misleading as a labyrinth A river runs through the valley below you and along its length you can see small rafts

Split Path As you stand on this solemn peak the real question that you ask yourself is why you wield a spear

Randidly closed his eyes As he read the Path completion notification he truly felt the things that it described He felt the cold snow on his bare feet with the chill rocks beneath the snow He could feel a light wind brush his cheek and ruffle his hair Above him towered mountains His hands ached from carrying the spear for so long Blood dripped off of the head of the weapon which had been modified by his subconscious to resemble Acri

Why I wield a spear huh Randidly reached up and scratched his cheek in that strange projected dream The best answer is that it is a coincidence It was the weapon my teacher used and so I adopted it But if you want to know why I keep a hold of this weapon even after all this time

There are some things you cannot protect without violence Randidly said aloud to the destroyed remnants of the Nether Herald and its Nether Beasts in the real world He opened his eyes and blinked But almost immediately the mental visions surged forward once more

Randidly could see himself descending down into the river valley with his spear raised He watched himself in third person fascinated by the experience As he looked at this projection of himself he could feel the poignant determination in his own eyes This place would not hold him he would proceed further and grow stronger no matter the cost

But Randidly shook his head to dismiss the vision you misunderstand what I meant At this juncture

By expressing his desire his consciousness returned to that projected image Randidly first tried to activate Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil within the vision but of course this Path was related to spear mastery He couldnÆt manifest any Skills besides that one

RandidlyÆs projected mouth curled upward Spear Mastery or this new Fabled Spear Mastery hasnÆt been my emphasis for a while The Skill Level is at 333 But This entire time IÆve never ceased practicing

Truly these hands feel most at rest wrapped around a spear

He raised his gaze from the river valley to the snow topped mountains that towered over him Then he raised his gaze even further looking up to the wide blue sky above

When Randidly raised his spear he settled into a very familiar stance Then he released a breath and thrust his spear quickly forward A thin blade of concentrated air pressure zipped into the sky But just as quickly as the wind blade proceeded Randidly was even quicker After unleashing the attack he crouched quickly and exploded into motion He jumped forward and rapidly caught up with that wind blade until he could lightly tap his foot against it

As he did so RandidlyÆs spear flashed and he unleashed another wind blade that shot along the sky and reached the edges of the cloud level At the same time the muscles of his foot flexed and threw Randidly forward

Like he was climbing a staircase Randidly gradually ascended through the clouds toward the peaks of that massive distant mountain range that resembled the lower jaw of a beast And as he continued to rise higher and higher he spoke to the air I cannot deny that I enjoy the challenge of fighting but I wonÆt seek it if I donÆt need to There are plenty of forces in the Nexus willing to force me to rely on violence And especially when the horizon is so wide why always carve a path through bodies with a spear

The wind around him grew chillier but Randidly didnÆt stop his strange spear hopping He continued to ascend upward until he could land on the top of the tallest and most ominous of the jawsÆ The clouds around him rumbled and began to darken A storm descended upon the surrounding area as a welcome party

With the coming storm the temperature sharply dropped But Randidly didnÆt mind After glancing around he trudged through the snow while ignoring the chill After a few minutes he spotted his goal He clamored over the last rock outcropping and looking down at what lay beyond this high mountain in his Split Path

And what he saw made him laugh Randidly scratched his head and chuckled Jeez of course An even higher mountain range But just as quickly as he spoke a new notification popped up in front of him

Congratulations Despite the long and bloody Path you have taken to get here your Path of the Spear remains strangely pure The difficulty of this Path lies in the freedom you now possess after your feet have left the ground you walk without any guide within the depths of the wilderness But your confidence and capability will be enough to ensure your safety

Congratulations Your Skill Fabled Spear Mastery has evolved into Ripple of Amenonuhoko Skill Level will be maintained Effect of Skill Levels slightly increased UserÆs ability to affect terrain with a spear has greatly increased Willpower +50 Free Stats +50

With a grin Randidly flexed his fingers After obtaining the latest batch of the free Stats he didnÆt dwell much on the unfamiliar name to his Skill Instead he took those free Stats and threw them into Focus The moment that Randidly reached 1000 in all of his Stats he felt the change come over him

He groaned and staggered backward as strange energy reverberations ran through his limbs At first he feared some other trap laid by the System or that the warning he had heard from Velio Dunn was correct that there was some hidden danger lurking for those who broke past the System limitation

But in the next moment Randidly managed to release a sudden gasp as his muscles seized and that energy within his body began to rapidly build The energy was neither Nether nor Aether but something less profound and more personal It was quite literally his physical life energy

After all of his Stats were pushed above 1000 the essence of his being began to change

Even while he continued to shift and twitch as he grew used to this sudden energy bubbling up from his depths Randidly followed another impulse He opened up the Path screen and looked at the bottom And his expectations werenÆt disappointed He had unlocked a new Path

Stat Evolution I 0/10 000

Chapter 1606

The notification was like a clap it snapped him out of a trance

Randidly blinked and chuckled at his own behavior He had been standing still and considering the PP investment of Stat Evolution I for so long that it was only another notification about his influence that attracted his attention Shaking his head Randidly allowed a small smile to bloom across his face WhatÆs there to think about I still have 81 thousand PP waiting to be used if this actually evolves a Stat it will be a worthy investment

So Randidly chose this Path next To his surprise moving through the Path had Stat gains but they were concentrated at the end He gained 1 Stat per 100 PP spent but these Stats were of the eventually chosen evolved statÆ The phrase was enough to build some anticipation in RandidlyÆs chest With burning eyes he completed the Path

Congratulations You have completed the Stat Evolution I Path You have continued to blaze a Path forward despite the sharp increase in resistance your improvement has been significant and comprehensive And as you gradually accumulate benefits on your journey the very foundation of your power your capable body has ripened toward its true potential Still not all Paths forward are smooth A hint of luck is required in all endeavors

Calculating Randomizing peak metamorphosis

Congratulations Ancient has been selected Please set a Stat to evolve to the Ancient Rarity Please note that your state of mind and concentration will be consulted to determine the resulting Stat

Randidly small smile gradually faded as he looked at the notification Then he began to scowl as he looked at his Status screen Randomized Well shit

The Rarities under the System went as follows Common Uncommon Rare Ancient Runic Legendary Mythic Transcendent and Pinnacle And when he had first seen the Stat Evolution Path Randidly had immediately felt a flush of pleasure as he imagined evolving his Control Stat It was the Stat that formed the cornerstone of his development Perhaps if he evolved it he could be able to replicate the mystifying capability of the Nether King that even now danced playfully above his head

Yet if he was just going to evolve Control into an Ancient Rarity Randidly was unwilling Nether Brawn was at the Ancient Rarity and although it definitely had improved his impact power and raw strength the effect hadnÆt been too overwhelming To make matters worse his Grim Intuition was Legendary

Randidly shook his head He did recognize that perhaps his scale was off the upper three Rarities might not be available for Stats But he somehow doubted that was the case So he had a difficult decision sitting in front of him

After thinking for almost ten minutes without any conclusion Randidly sighed He reached up and rubbed the back of his neck Well IÆve improved Stats in the past thereÆs no reason to assume I wonÆt be able to do it again in the future And my images and visualizations have improved so much that I donÆt doubt that I can push the Rarity of a Stat above Legendary with a little effort

Which left Randidly with a new decision what Stat should become Ancient

After humming a bit the two obvious options Randidly settled on were Agility and Willpower They were the second and third highest Stats he had respectively that werenÆt already evolved As for which was better to evolve Randidly settled on Agility

The whole point of using all this PP is to craft a very particular surprise for Velio Dunn and his ilk that plan to ambush me on the frontlines Randidly reflected as he readied himself Even if I improve Willpower my images and Skills wonÆt improve enough to match up to Velio in a direct confrontation Meanwhile if my speed gets a significant bump

Agility selected to evolve to the Ancient Rarity Calculating

Randidly pressed his eyes closed He wasnÆt quite sure how to guide the evolution but his mind went to those quiet moments in battle before he exploded into motion What he wanted was speed speed enough to surprise

Congratulations your Agility has evolved into Dreadful Alacrity Effectiveness of each Stat point has increased In addition the first half second of any movement from over five seconds of stillness will be calculated with half again as much Dreadful Alacrity +100 Dreadful Alacrity

All told it was both a qualitative change to RandidlyÆs Agility and also 200 more Stat points which now made Dreadful Alacrity his second highest Stat Randidly paused in his Path finishing and tested the limits of his new Stat While he was doing so he also produced Acri and experimented with his Ripple of Amenonuhoko

At first he just spun Acri in his hand while hopping back and forth Not only was his base speed improved but when Randidly stood still for the required five seconds his first attack was incredibly vicious and sharp

When he was satisfied with his new Dreadful Alacrity Randidly focused on the Ripple of Amenonuhoko The main effect appeared to a strange series of ethereal fissures that Randidly could feel in the air When he held Acri still he could just barely glimpse six lines spreading out from the weapon If he cut sideways along the largest of those lines the ground in front of him rippled and exploded upward in the direction he gestured

Narrowing his eyes he began to experiment with the limits of this strange ability to manipulate the ground As he did so he realized two things one that it wasnÆt just the ground he could now mobilize with the proper movements He could generate a powerful wind in the surrounding area by following the strange lines which seemed intimately connected with the natural world However the second thing that he realized was that doing so required extreme Control he would need quite a bit of practice before he could cause an effect reliably

When he combined his newfound explosive power with his ability to affect the ground beneath him

Congratulations Your Skill Ripple of Amenonuhoko has grown to Level 334

Afterward Randidly grinned and lowered his spear before he started moving for real He didnÆt want to reveal his true capability but the sensation was intoxicating Extremely worth it

To his surprise when Randidly went back to the Path screen the second in the series was waiting for him Stat Evolution II 0/10 000

Gritting his teeth Randidly teetered on the availability of the Path for a little longer But after feeling how valuable the evolution was for his Agility Randidly decided to put another 10 000 PP toward this goal Once again he earned 1 Stat of the chosen Stat when he finished per 100 he spent

Congratulations You have completed the Stat Evolution II Path Further and further you have traveled Each step becomes accumulation and accumulation eventually becomes transformative Once more you have arrived at a crossroads Still not all Paths forward are smooth A hint of luck is involved in all endeavors

Congratulations Uncommon has been selected Please set a Stat to evolve to the Uncommon Rarity Please note that your state of mind and concentration will be consulted to determine the resulting Stat

You fucking piece of shit RandidlyÆs eyes twitched For several seconds he ground his teeth as he examined the notification Uncommon No fucking way IÆll evolve Control into an Uncommon Stat haah Even making Willpower a Stat only at the Uncommon Rarity feels like a waste

Randidly growled and swept his eyes around wishing that a new Nether Pinion would crash to the ground in front of him so he could expand some of the seething frustration in his chest Perhaps he should have read the notification more closely if the result were truly random these bad outcomes might be more common than something like an Ancient Rarity

However Randidly knew that even if the Pinion were to descend in front of him he couldnÆt go all out At the moment he had just displayed his combat prowessÆ in a public mission for Military High command He couldnÆt shatter that perception of his power before he could crush whatever trap his enemies might spring against him

Randidly quickly quieted his bitterness he was not someone who regretted things for very long Regret was useless Instead he simply selected Vitality for the Stat Evolution Some extra survivability wouldnÆt hurt As he selected the Stat his mind settled within his heart and listened to its reassuring beat He could feel the aura of life he had gained when every Stat rose above 1000 circulating through his person

Congratulations Your Vitality has evolved into Uncommon Metabolism (Un) You will receive slightly more Health per Stat Point You will receive more Stamina Regeneration and Health Regeneration per Stat point +100 Uncommon Metabolism (Un)

How low class Randidly muttered to himself as he scratched his head The Stat name also includes its Rarity

Still RandidlyÆs expression grew rather solemn as he looked at the changes to his Health Health Regen and Stamina Regen from the shift While the shift in Health was only about a thousand both of the regenerations nearly doubled the benefit to his regenerations that he got from the Stat had increased by a fold And regenerations didnÆt often become relevant in battles where images were dominant but if they were high enough

For that alone it was worth it

With a heavy heart Randidly looked again and found that the familiar Path Stat Evolution III waiting for him If he finished this Path he would have spent one third of his Tithe on the Stat evolution In terms of raw Stat gains it might be worth it but Randidly didnÆt want to put all his eggs in one basket Still

Randidly sighed and tried one more time

Congratulations You have completed the Stat Evolution III Path Some have managed to evolve a single Stat in their journeys Fewer still had the capital to create evolution opportunities for the second Yet to evolve a third truly your abilities are significant Still not all Paths forward are smooth A hint of luck is involved in all endeavors

Congratulations Mythic has been selected Please set a Stat to evolve to the Mythic Rarity Please note that your state of mind and concentration will be consulted to determine the resulting Stat

About Damn Time Randidly growled It was the lowest of the three higher Rarities but it would still be the highest Rarity Stat he possessed Then with a flourish of the hand he selected Control to Evolve As he did so Randidly shifted his gaze upward to the conflict between the Nether King and Commandant Wick

Huge spatial cracks ripped outward from their point of conflict before zipping back together Yet Randidly could just barely catch the constant assembly and dissemination of the small Nether particles that continually cranked up the pressure against Commandant Wick That strange ability to generate overwhelming patterns from transient and meaningless particles that was what Randidly sought

Congratulations Your Skill Left Hand of the Nether Oracle has grown to Level 222

With burning eyes locked on the majestic movements of the Nether King above Randidly selected Control

Chapter 1607

This is the place Wivanya asked in interest as she looked down at the mountain top below them Her claws tightened on the stone perch beneath her With the arrival of spring the temperature gradually rose even in the high elevation of the home territory of the Frost Dragons Yet due to the heavy accumulation thick drifts of snow remained in the surroundings

Since Alana was busy dealing with some trouble with the final Zone to join Expira Wivanya had some free time to return to her people She had planned to come and make sure everyone was taking their holy mission seriously Little did she know that she would be presented with a historic opportunity in the process

In the darkness of the night before dawn the Nether Gatekeeper next to her nodded in assent He pointed down to one of the strange stone archways that had recently appeared across Expira Yes that is the one The Ghosthound dropped me on the other side and told me not to make any trouble

Wivanaya snorted in pleasure and stretched out a wing to lightly path the Nether GatekeeperÆs back Hum It will require some research but it is clear that this is a Holy Site We must build a monastery at this location both here and on the other side

Then Wivanya raised her head and unleashed an echoing roar that bounced off the surrounding peaks At her call almost fifty of her brood began to circle the area above her head and then glide down in neat formation They landed on the summit and tucked their wings against their sides Dutifully all the frost dragons formed a long line starting at the archway Each was equipped with an interspatial bracelet on one of their claws that contained building materials and literature detailing the exploits of the glorious Ghosthound

Wivanya nodded in satisfaction when her people squeezed their wings to their sides they were just small enough to squeeze through the archway Time to spread the word to an entirely new world

Then Wivanya looked up at the sky Soon it would be dawn Time was short so as many as possible needed to slip through to the other side and investigate a whole new world of people to which to spread the good news

Congratulations Your Control has evolved into recalculating

Due to the specificity of impression and potency of the chosen target a mutation has occurred Your Fateset Paradox of the Alchemist has reacted strongly to your desire Your Skill Left Hand of the Nether Oracle has reacted strongly to your desire Recalculating Rarity being adjusted

In your determination lies the potential to become an Alchemist that can even synthesize prophecy The vestments of an Oracle are utilized with scientific precision Rarity being adjusted

Your Stat Control has evolved into Fidelity of the Ascendant Moirae For being the ninth individual to craft a Pinnacle Stat +200 to Fidelity of the Ascendant Moirae For being the first individual to reach the Pinnacle in the area of Control your contribution to the System will be

Error no available record detected Please see your Village Spirit for Details

Warning Unable to perceive the exact effects of the new Skill

Attempting to recalculate Attempt failed

RandidlyÆs eyes flashed with barely disguised ill will as the System tried to record his contributionÆ but he was glad to see that there was an error It seemed NathazÆs assurances that he would prevent a similar attention grabbing incident from occurring around his Aether construction again was trustworthy But in the next moment RandidlyÆs vision was smashed to darkness by a strange internal rumble

Was I His dazed mind scrambled to figure out what happened No itÆs not an attack ItÆs just this evolved Stat

Without any ability to recover himself Randidly collapsed Each of his nerves was buzzing as though they understood the change that was coming and they were dashing to the grocery store before everything closed down He bit his lip so hard that he tasted blood An earthquake ran through RandidlyÆs Soulspace in the very next moment The area devoted to the Aether structure of his Class and Stats was beginning to shake as something arrived Very quickly those reverberations spread outward through the inner area filled with his Skills and images

Randidly gritted his teeth as his mind struggled to float atop the dangerous waves of change that rushed back and forth within his person Without Randidly consciously moving it he could feel the rotation of energy around his Nether Core increasing in velocity as potential energy crackled within him A wave of radiation blasted outward from RandidlyÆs Soulspace originating from the Stat that had once been Control

Gasping Randidly rolled on his side as his muscles began to spasm His eyes cracked open as he released a hiss of pain and then his eyes widened as he realized that the radiation from his Soulspace wasnÆt just in his imagination when he looked at himself he could see that his skin had turned luminescent and was lit by a pure white light That inner change produced enough powerful reverberations that it manifested in the physical realm

Shit Randidly muttered as he tried to force himself off the ground He vaguely had the impulse to find cover Those buzzing nerves were suddenly lit on fire as the radiation intensified causing his face to contort with agony But even though his senses were fuzzed by the overwhelming transformation Randidly could see that whatever power he was releasing was much more potent than he wanted to be displayed The surrounding space was beginning to roil If things continued like this and attracted attention

But just as he was worrying the accelerating energy of his Nether Core exploded outward It swirled through their intimate connection and manifested in the surrounding space as a black mist that escaped through his pours Soon Randidly was at the center of a pitch black maelstrom that screened the whole of the broken Nether Pinion

If someone was truly watching perhaps they could believe that some reaction was occurring in the Nether Pinion itself

Which was certainly eye catching but Randidly could also feel that the dense Nether would block his own strange radiation from escaping

Releasing a pained sigh Randidly allowed himself to collapse again against the ground and press his eyes shut The reaction in his body continued to grow so that the influence of the new stat thoroughly penetrated through all of his body and Skills Then when it seemed like that light had reached its peak it began to release pulsing waves targeted at RandidlyÆs mind

Those waves lapped gradually deeper through RandidlyÆs thoughts and perceptions shifting and searing them Suddenly Randidly was shivering as his senses began to feed him a confusing mix of information Several times he once again briefly lost consciousness only returning to himself after the particularly massive wave of energy had passed and burned away his very perception of it

Randidly pressed his lips together as he lay in the middle of the swirling maelstrom of black mist Nether This had better be fucking worth it

The process of enrichmentÆ lasted for almost ten minutes Each second was agony As time was fractured and broken into minuscule chunks by the pain of the transformation Randidly felt like the actual duration was much longer than his Absolute Timing indicated He seemed stuck eternally tormented as this strange mutated Stat grew to the full of its power

And then after one last wave flowed through the entirety of his being the heat in his nerves began to ease As the muscles of his torso loosened Randidly released a stale breath

The pain began to recede leaving the buzzing of raw nerve endings along his arms and legs Groaning Randidly rolled a bit to a sitting position His limbs tingled He flexed his hands and gradually checked in on the state of his body His bones and muscles ached slightly but it just a lingering sensation after all of the overstimulation

And as that change faded away and he could actually feel the fineness of his mental acuity

RandidlyÆs eyes were luminous as he slowly stood and stretched Then he paused and looked upward at the sky The whole of the universe seemed to spin predictably before his gaze The steady process of the birth and death of stars as well as the long orbitals of celestial bodies spun before his vision Then he refocused on closer phenomena

He didnÆt blink at all as he carefully studied the powerful wheeling patterns amongst the Nether particles As he continued to focus the grinding and thunderous discharge from the struggle faded away and left behind only the ethereal beauty of the Nether KingÆs work Motes of light and meaning wove together As Randidly carefully followed them he began to see something much bigger than just the current fight

Congratulations Your Skill Left Hand of the Nether Oracle has grown to Level 223

Congratulations Your Skill Left Hand of the Nether Oracle has grown to Level 241

Gradually Randidly allowed his eyes to slide shut ThatÆs probably enough for now IÆm still a little short of being able to create a pattern like that But IÆm starting to understand the basic principles

The improvement to his abilities with his new Fidelity of the Ascendant Moirae was difficult to quantify But above all the sensation was pleasurable as the last after effects disappeared He wasnÆt sure if it was his imagination or not but Randidly felt like he could reach out and directly dominate his surroundings Almost unwillingly he kept himself from testing that theory in case he was still under observation

Perhaps even stranger than that was the impression that the entirety of the environment was oddly predictable As though RandidlyÆs new Control came pre loaded with insight to the vital mechanisms on which the natural world functioned

But Randidly couldnÆt resist producing Acri once more As he held the spear in a combat stance the squiggly lines of Ripple of Amenonuhoko swam playfully outward from the blade Narrowing his eyes Randidly released a breath Then he cut sharply upward following one of those lines With the edge of Dreadful Alacrity his speed was brutal

Congratulations Your Skill Ripple of Amenonuhoko has grown to Level 335

Congratulations Your Skill Ripple of Amenonuhoko has grown to Level 336

About a hundred meters away an enormous pillar of stone ruptured the ground as it exploded upward Randidly clicked his tongue in appreciation as he lowered Acri The effect ease of activation and range have definitely increased with using this spear Skill but more than that itÆs the Skill Levels that really show how immense the change to Control was

More capability makes Skill Levels easier All of my experimentation earlier only yielded a single Skill Level but with this new Stat a single strike earned me two

IÆll still need to do some digging to make sure this new Stat doesnÆt contain any sort of venom from the Nexus but right now my Nether is still flowing cleanly through me What sort of improvement did I stumble across I wonder combining an Alchemist with an Oracle huh

Randidly lowered his spear unwillingly After glancing around he opened up his Path menu once more he still had so much PP to spend He scanned through the Paths and selected Conviction of the Celestial Cataclysm Of the remaining Paths Randidly believed it would provide the broadest benefit But as he poured PP into it and earned 1 Willpower per 50 spent a sardonic smile crossed his face

With how much my Stats are growing by spending all this PP it remains to be seen if IÆll be able to control my own body afterward

Congratulations You have completed the Conviction of the Celestial Cataclysm Path An unavoidable truth of your existence is that your unflinching resolve is an enormous part of your strength The Path to your current heights could not be traversed by the faint of heart Yet as you look up the Pinnacle looms even further above taunting you with the intervening distance

Yet there is no doubt in your heart is there You will continue forward The Path continues ever onward

Congratulations Willpower +100 Your Skill Conviction of the Smiling Horror has evolved into Conviction of the Celestial Cataclysm Skill Level will be maintained The increase in image efficiency is slightly increased per Skill Level Damage improvement is slightly increased per Skill Level

Chapter 1608

Aunty Theo IÆm almost finished packing

Aunty Theo glanced sideways from the stack of financial documents sitting in front of her Most were rejections from various lending institutions but the few cautious let us considerÆ responses were enough for her At the moment she was content to revel in the present

Seeing the eleven year old boy trying to drag a suitcase just as big as him behind him as he walked into the living room her lips twitched The whole process painted an adorable picture She first moved to stand and help him but then stopped herself and shook her head in self mockery With the System it might look ridiculous but he really does have the Strength to handle a suitcase full of clothes I cannot underestimate how much the world is changing these days

Heh will there someday be a tiny bodybuilder competition grunting and throwing around Olympic grade barbells

Instead of heading over to provide unnecessary assistance she waved her hand and sat back down Great great That means we will be leaving shortly Are you excited to go to a new place

The boy nodded so quickly that his head blurred and placed his suitcase next to Aunty TheoÆs desk Then he turned away and hurried back to his room leaving the older woman to touch the suitcase and store it away in her interspatial watch

As she did so she noticed the time She bit her lip for several seconds she was torn But despite the fact she knew that it would only further inflame her toothless fury she walked to the television and switched it to the press conference

Aunty Theo had tuned in right after the reporter finished asking some question The new President Kurt Henry of Zone 1 a tall tanned broadly smiling man with black hair barely fading to grey at the edges flashed his chemically bleached teeth at the cameras This isnÆt any sort of political pressure on Kharon itÆs simple social responsibility If the new Kharon Academy is unwilling to develop any sort of logical curriculum and instead focuses on weaknesses Zone 1 has no plans to legitimize their degrees

The camera quickly switched to a female reporter Kharon Academy is the personal project of Randidly Ghosthound Although he hasnÆt been publicly seen in weeks this school is definitely his brainchild If he believes that this is the best way to educate our children isnÆt Zone 1 willing to listen After everything else he has accomplished

Now look President Henry said with another shy smile as though he was almost embarrassed by what he was about to say Randidly Ghosthound is undoubtedly the most powerful fighter in the world But he is still just a man This is humanityÆs future that we are talking about education is planting the seeds of tomorrow Maybe we might miss out on some immediate benefits but we believe a more conservative and cautious approach to be the best ThereÆs no need to make hasty judgments

Empty vapid optimistically banal Aunty Theo thought listing off the obvious traits of this new president Her lip curled upward as she looked at him smiling confidently on the television Just as reassuring and midwestern as though they had cut down a stalk of corn and set it up to lead the Zone

A new reporter pressed forward through the assembled media members and raised his recording device Instantly Aunty Theo recognized his type by the determined set of his lips Her eyes glittered Although this was a press conference scheduled to speak on the issue of Kharon Academy this was exactly the sort of reporter that would ignore that and ask a substantive question

Do you have any comment on the protests over the tightened citizenship measures of Zone 1 Many believe this is a naked attempt to discriminate against immigrants from Danger Zones The reporter said

For a split second President Henry froze and tilted his head to the side

Aunty TheoÆs lip curled up even further Inevitably when you ask an empty robot to be your mouthpiece there are some moments when his dead machinery shows through

President Henry then defaulted to the two very successful moves that had won him his election First he smiled It was just a simple change of expression but Kurt Henry was truly a handsome man His unnaturally white teeth gleamed reassuringly

Then he thorough shit on the previous regime his other tried and true tactic Look weÆve tried to although these beings free entry my predecessor President Greyman appeared to completely ignore this issue during her term And look at the result so many lives lost

Theodora Greyman decisively switched off the television And although she was furious she also felt a growing sense of schadenfreude after listening to the current PresidentÆs words

After all no one knew better than she the price of underestimating Randidly Ghosthound She certainly wasnÆt going to miss this chance to invest in this new academy no matter what it cost her

Commander Shilling cleared his throat slightly as the group continued to march across the dusty plains The slug like being waved its two black antennae in the air as it considered the situation in front of them Is there a problem with your allies

Charlotte WickÆs expression was awkward The conflict between Commandant Wick and the Nether King raged above them in long blasts of black lightning that set the air buzzing But most soldiers could ignore that atmospheric interference at this point after laboring under it for so long What currently had their attention was the actions of the GhosthoundÆs Riders

Currently they were engaging in a massive melee Lance and mounts smashed into each other with the various Riders raising their weapons to the sky and shaking them in the background When one Rider was knocked down another charged forward to take their place in a bloody conflict with the victor

They are obviously avoiding fatal blows but still

Charlotte could only scratch her cheek There had been a lot of discussion regarding these Riders by the elite group after they had joined the fight against the first Nether Pinion Luckily it seemed that DiOrtho Vant had some experience with them He had explained that they were a rather standoffish but unified army There were different varieties that appeared to be constantly competing against one another but they always joined together whenever faced with an external threat So the current situation was a bit unexpected

Even if you say they compete with one another Charlotte gritted her teeth This looks just like warfare

Commander Shilling was the leader of the troops that the Ghosthound had sent the elite troops to reinforce In addition to one hundred fifty elites they had come with almost a thousand Riders Initially the Commander had been delighted when the group arrived it had been in contact with other task forces and realized how difficult a problem the Nether Pinions were

Sensing the strength of the elite group and the numbers of the Riders a lot of the CommanderÆs stress disappeared The frantic twitching of its antenna had ceased

But with the sudden infighting of the Riders it appeared that if anything the CommanderÆs twitches had intensified

Inwardly she was cursing the Ghosthound for how helpful his giftsÆ were The Ghosthound was undoubtedly powerful but he often seemed to purposefully made things difficult for his recruits Perhaps this was just some sort of sadistic and lingering training method now that they were no longer just his recruits

But outwardly Charlotte released a breath and tried to put a positive spin on the situation The Riders are simply psyching themselves up for the upcoming battle As you can see there are no casualties this is just sparring But meanwhile by the time that we arrive at our destination their morale

Even CharlotteÆs meandering explanationÆ of the situation had to pause as a sudden change spread quickly through the assembled Riders Even those locked in a furious struggle with each other were abruptly frozen The sudden commotion immediately died causing an awkward silence to spread outward

Then the Riders began to transform

Both the Riders and the Mounts twitched and collapsed Their muscles bulged and flexed as they writhed in obvious agony on the ground Strange growths of flesh exploded outward from various limbs only to shrink back within their person as though nothing had happened Beside her the CommanderÆs own twitches had become an almost constant vibration This boosts morale

Charlotte couldnÆt bring herself to claim anything further about the Riders actions But very quickly her attention was drawn to a few spots of golden light that appeared amongst the various Riders It was as though a bunch of tiny stars appeared above a few dozen of the Riders and dropped slowly down to condense into a necklace around the necks of the Riders in question

With a quick count Charlotte spotted 47 such drops of golden light And to her surprise when the light faded the energy had become a sharp tooth like the fang of a wolf

Still much more reassuring was what happened next Gradually the Riders got back to their feet and looked at their own hands in wonder In the next second a powerful aura wafted off of the Riders whatever had happened it had clearly increased their strength

Was I actually not wrong

Sensing the opportunity Charlotte did her best to reveal a winning smile toward the Commander As you can see the process is a bit violent but now

As though they had waited until this moment to allow Charlotte Wick to feel confident in her relief the Riders launched once more into a series of battles This time the clashes were much smaller scale focusing on a series of duels by the Riders who held these suddenly appearing fangs But no matter that the fights were much smaller in scale all the reassurance Charlotte had been attempting become useless

This perhaps it is just better if we attack alone Commander Shilling whispered It appears that your group is still too green for a real battlefield

CharlotteÆs mouth twitched as a strange fury emerged in her heart Certainly this behavior from the Riders was unfortunate but that didnÆt completely mean this Commander could dismiss their newly named Vulpis Squad After all Charlotte could sense that her own personal power might be less than the Commander but it wasnÆt a decisive difference

So she narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth At least the Vulpis Squad

WouldnÆt your energy be better spent assisting your allies The Commander responded blandly

Just as Charlotte was about to retort another change went through the Riders Or rather the same changes that happened previously repeated themselves They froze They collapsed Their bodies warped and mutated Then another fifty or so golden lights condensed down amongst them

Some went to individuals who had managed to accumulate a few fangs already but most went to completely new individuals Then to complete the repetition all of the Riders stood and released an even more domineering aura of power

Charlotte felt a headache coming on At the very least them being more powerful is a good thing right

Chapter 1609

While their allies in the mission to them given by the Ghosthound decided to ignore the issue and continue to the objective point the Riders themselves or the Lancers now were also rather surprised by the abrupt changes After the initial burst of heady chaos everyone became aware that the current situation was untenable They needed to control their new instincts

But just as soon as they had managed to recover another round of changes arrived

After the third such moment of weakness pain transformation and increased strength the five most powerful Lancers who had accompanied Charlotte Wick gathered together to discuss the situation

The leader of the Lancers who rode spiders the Legion of Unavoidable Pivots spoke first She was the only leader of the three original factions to be present so she had the most experience with these sort of changes in capability Around her neck hung seventeen gleaming fangs We need to develop rules regarding the exchange of fangs More chaos especially while on a personal mission from the Ghosthound will only bring us dishonor

The other four expressed their agreement with that sentiment even though they were excited about the changes and their newfound power all felt a bit of shame in their hearts that the mission had stalled out as they fought over the fangs Establishing some rules would be a good thing And of all of the different varieties it couldnÆt be denied that the strange and flexible Legion of Unavoidable Pivots were the best group to innovate

The Ghosthound was not the sort to restrict the behavior of the Lancers which they understood and appreciated Yet at the moment it made their job more difficult If there were to be rules they would need to make them themselves

After some thought the leader of the Spider Lancers spoke slowly First we cannot continue to fight over the Fangs during a mission Next and perhaps this is the most difficult I think there need to be two limitations put on the challenges First that after winning a challenge against some other individual with Fangs a victory will only earn you one of the loserÆs Fangs And to make sure someone simply does not repeatedly challenge the loser a challenge can only seriously be issued by a Lancer to someone with the same number or more Fangs

The assembled five Lancers thought about this It was a compromise between those who currently wanted more Fangs and those who wanted less Those who wanted more wouldnÆt have to fear losing all their fangs at once to another more powerful entity but they also couldnÆt bully those with less They would need to wait for the weaker party to challenge them to accumulate additional Fangs

Very quickly the attention of the leaders turned to another individual amongst the gathered five this powerful Lancer rode an eagle and now possessed twenty eight Fangs Among the Lancers there was now an internal sense amongst them they understood inherently that a powerful boundary called TiersÆ now existed amongst them Amongst this group there were only two Tier III individuals the leader of the Spider Lancers and the Eagle Lancer The others were very powerful in the scale of Tier II but the gap between the Tiers was significant

There was a tense silence as the Eagle Lancer closed his eyes The Eagle Lancer had not fought the leader of the Legion of Unavoidable Pivots but its aura was even more domineering If it opposed these rules

It was only when he opened its eyes and slowly nodded that the others could breathe a sigh of relief Stability comes first This is a gift from Lord Ghosthound These rules will promote the stability that we need to adapt

Very quickly they were able to hash out the rules of engagement Through their mental connection to their subordinates the plan was spread to the Lancers on other missions Due to the less time sensitive nature of the patrols on which the other Lancers were riding the situation there had been even more chaotic Gradually the Lancers collected themselves and focused on the task at hand

However just before the group of five was finishing up one of the powerful Tier II Lancers spoke up almost unwillingly It was the leader of the Legion of Unavoidable Bounds that rode a toad having been developed by the Ghosthound during his time in the Toad World

I believe we should also acknowledge that possibility we now sense It is possible for us Lancers of the Baleful Crusade to break off from the Ghosthound and become independent existences

The other Lancers said nothing to this but all of their faces contorted into unsightly scowls This possibility was something that filled each of them with an instinctual fear On the one hand it represented their own increased capability so a part of them were tempted by the opportunity On the other hand it represented a decisive view on the part of the Ghosthound he would not force the Lancers to make their own decisions Such faith made the Lancers realize they could disappoint their leader

Sometimes it was more emotionally tranquil to be controlled

But even while the other four had anxious expressions on their faces the Eagle Lancer spoke calmly This capability is simply part of our evolution Do not many others follow the Lord Ghosthound willingly Rather than being threatened by this option we should take it for what it is an acknowledgment of our growth No longer are we simply minions now we receive the same blessings that the other followers of the Ghosthound receive